For many print on demand companies, the holiday shopping season represents one of the busiest times of the year. Black Friday and Cyber Monday, in particular, are two of the biggest shopping days of the year, and present abundant opportunities to engage shoppers and build momentum heading into the final stretch of the year.
To take advantage of those opportunities, your print on demand business will need to be fully prepared, ready to set forth the best offers, and handle a surge in consumer demand. Here are a few strategies we recommend for a successful and (relatively) stress-free season.
Preparing Your Print on Demand Business for the Holiday Sale Season
1) Remember: You can never start too early!
Historically, Black Friday and Cyber Monday have been seen as the true beginning of the holiday shopping season. In 2021, however, with so many headlines about shipping delays and supply shortages, many consumers are beginning their shopping even earlier.
The bottom line for print on demand companies:
Consumers are already thinking about when, where, and how they will secure the best deals this holiday shopping season. Now is the time to start planning and promoting your seasonal promos and offers, whether by social media, newsletter, or whatever other channels are at your disposal.
2) Show off your holiday products.
Another way in which your print on demand business can lay the foundation for a successful holiday shopping season: Start highlighting any holiday-specific items now. That means proudly displaying any Christmas, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, autumn, or winter products in your print on demand store.
There are plenty of ways in which you can develop and showcase creative, custom designs with a festive theme. If you’re stuck for options, make sure you connect with your design team sooner rather than later.
3) Make sure your customers know what to expect.
As you begin preparing for holiday sales, keep in mind the need to manage customer expectations throughout the process. Simply put, you don’t want any confusion or any unwanted surprises that could sour your customers’ impressions of your print on demand business.
What this means:
- Be very clear, throughout the shopping and checkout experience, about what kinds of shipping times and potential delays your customers should expect.
- Provide plenty of education about the print on demand process.
- Let customers know what payment options they will have before they make it to the end of the checkout process.
4) Be upfront about your policies for returns and exchanges.
Often, online shoppers will purchase holiday gifts early on, allowing them some wiggle room to make exchanges as needed before Christmas day. What this means for you is that your return and exchange policies need to be clear and accessible to your shoppers.
In creating these policies, reach out to past consumers, and ask if they’re willing to share feedback concerning their experience. This kind of feedback will help you make truly informed decisions, and will also maximize the odds that everything runs smoothly during the peak holiday season.
A Holiday Sale Checklist for Your Print on Demand Company
As you get ready to promote your print on demand products during the busiest sales season of the year, here’s a quick checklist to keep handy.
- Test and verify that your website can handle a big spike in traffic.
- Double-down on multi-channel sales, including Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, etc.
- Set up alerts to keep tabs on your competitors.
- Be mindful of pandemic shopping trends.
- Make sure you’re offering gift cards!
- Be proactive in preparing enticing BFCM sales content.
- Have banners and hero images ready to deploy on your print on demand site.
- Retarget your previous buyers.
- Use your email marketing list to its full potential.
- Make sure you’re working with a dependable, quality-focused print on demand partner.
Get Ready To Sell Print on Demand Products During the BFCM Craziness
The bottom line? Black Friday and Cyber Monday present an invaluable chance for your print on demand products to shine. To take full advantage of this season, be sure you’re partnered with one of the top print on demand manufacturing companies, like Gooten. And with any additional questions about this important season, reach out to our team directly.
