When I’m out and about, trying to complete my holiday shopping, it’s easy to remember how quickly I’m running out of time to get it all done. The traffic, the crowds, the incredible (and time-sensitive) sales all help to reinforce my sense of urgency. However, I find that when I’m at home, at my computer, shopping online, the sense of urgency tends to fade and take a back seat, giving me a false sense of “having plenty of time” to get everything done.

As an online store owner, though, I want to remind my visitors of the proximity of the holiday, and do what I can to recreate a similar sense of urgency. It’s even more important online than in the “offline” world - the choice of online stores is nearly infinite in comparison to the brick-and-mortar choices within a reasonable driving distance. Also, when you factor in shipping times, it’s even more important for the customer to buy now rather than waiting. If they’ve made it to my website, it is imperative that I do everything I can to make the sale before they are off to the next site.

A subtle, but powerful, way to increase the sense of urgency to buy now is to put a countdown timer on your site. Here is a snapshot of the timer that I’ve put on all my ecommerce sites (and even my eBay listings):

It’s a flash-based timer that continually counts down the time left until Christmas day. I used a similar timer on the run-up to Halloween, and saw a significant increase in sales. It’s pleasant to look at, non intrusive, and yet reinforces the idea (through the continual ticking off of the hours, minutes and seconds left) that time is running out.

If you’d like this timer to put on your own site, it’s free! I created the timer myself, so I’m giving it away to my subscribers. Subscribers to this blog will get free access to the timer, all necessary files to set it up, and instructions. An email will be going out later today to current subscribers with the link. (Not a subscriber? It’s easy - fill in your name and email in the form at the upper right, and be sure to “confirm” when you receive the confirmation email. The link will then be emailed to you).

Happy Holidays!

Tags: black friday, ecommerce, free countdown timer, holiday countdown, holiday sales, marketing

One of my ecommerce sites was contacted by a major television network today for an overnight order. They need it there by tomorrow - and they are on the other side of the country.

Overnight orders are stressful, somewhat complicated, and expensive if mistakes are made. For a while, I didn’t offer “overnight” for those exact reasons.

Then, I decided to take the long view, and focus on what’s best for the customer instead of what’s most convenient for me.

If I weren’t offering overnight / expedited shipping, I would miss out on many first time orders, and any potential repeat orders from customers who needed or wanted their merchandise quickly. And, more important to the subject at hand, today’s order would not have happened at all.

It’s worth it to trade a little convenience on my part for the sake of my customers (and ultimately my business). The long view in action.

To take it a step further - I shipped two complete orders to them, via two different carriers, at my own expense. (My experience with overnight shipping reliability is somewhat spotty - enough so that I don’t have 100% confidence in it). I’m hedging my bets, spending out of my own pocket so that I don’t miss this golden opportunity.

To what end?

I want to make sure that this major TV show gets my merchandise in time so they can use it on their show as intended… and then I can say “As seen on [major TV show]” on my site. That level of credibility and publicity is worth far more than the extra product and shipping costs.

The short-term view would be that the extra money has been wasted, and that it’s impossible to know whether it ever directly results in future sales. (This inclination is a close relative of the sensation I experience whenever my alarm clock goes off).

The long view recognizes this “expense” as an investment for the future. That if the first package doesn’t make it in time - and there is no backup plan — it will cost far more in lost sales than it costs to send two packages.

The difference really comes down to why I’m doing ecommerce in the first place. The short view would be fine if this were just a hobby. But I’m in business - therefore, the long view must prevail.

What do you think?

Tags: business mindset, ecommerce, investment vs cost, long view, marketing