We’re just a little more than 3 weeks away from the busiest shopping season of the year. I’m sure many of you have already seen an uptick in your sales as early holiday shoppers start buying gifts and hopefully, you’ve got your sites all decked for the season.
As Black Friday weekend approaches, I know that for many eCommerce business owners, the overwhelm starts to set in.
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Your Q4 To-Do List Feels Long
You realize you’re coming up against the clock, and your to-do list is still a mile long. You want to make sure you’ve got everything optimized to make the most of every website visitor, email subscriber, holiday shopper, etc.
You want to get in the weeds to cross every T and dot every I. I’m so proud of you for that.
I get so excited when I see Lounge members ask data questions and strategize based on what they’re seeing. They want to make sure they’re always working to do everything better. That’s why I started the Lounge program: so I could offer that ongoing support and be with your business for the long haul.
I’m literally obsessed with it.
But I also noticed that sometimes… we can get too in the weeds about all the things and we end up missing the big picture.
It’s truly a delicate balance, one that takes a lot of practice to get right. One that you might never be consistently successful at. And that’s okay.
What I see happen more often than not is these big pendulum swings. You ignore the data and just keep chugging along wondering why things aren’t quite moving the way you want them to, then you think oh shit… I need to pay more attention so you do… but then you get bogged down in analysis and don’t take enough action.
As long as you can recognize when you’ve swung too far in one direction and can correct, it’s all good. Don’t beat yourself up about it.
Why You Need to Focus on the Big Picture
Here’s the thing, and this is especially true in Q4…
Unless you’re a super high-volume business, it’s unlikely that any one tiny improvement is going to have a highly measurable impact on your bottom line.
That’s not to say that tiny improvements aren’t important. Of course, they are. But typically, it’s the compound effect of a lot of small improvements that end up moving the needle.
This is the base of everything I teach my students in the Lounge. We do a lot of math so they can see how improvements across all their KPIs will affect their sales and profit. I’m nerdy like that.
Unsurprisingly, the lower your overall revenue, the more every extra bit counts. Right? An extra $500 a month means more to someone doing $5k per month than someone doing $50k per month.
I’m not discounting that at all.
I don’t want you to spend the next 3 weeks trying to figure out every last thing you could do to improve every aspect of your business and its performance.
At this point, it’s big-picture time.
If your big-picture plans are all mapped out and in place, great. You can dive into some of those smaller details. But if you’re just starting to plan your holiday campaign now, you’ve got to focus on the big picture things first.
No amount of tiny improvements will make a difference if you can’t get eyeballs on your business.
Your Number One Focus
Your number one priority during the holiday season is to be visible. Wherever and however you market your business – social, email, in-person, ads. Doesn’t matter. You have to put your energy into breaking through the noise. Showing up consistently. Telling people what you have, who it’s good for, and why they want it.
You have to get them excited about your collections and promotions. You want them to bookmark you so they can make a plan to come and spend with your business. Now is the time to start dropping hints and getting the word out. And don’t be shy about it.
From now until your shipping cut-off… that’s all that should be on your to-do list!
