Recent estimates forecast holiday growth somewhere in the range of 4-5%, exceeding $1.1 trillion in revenue this year. While this number is still “unpredictable,” it’s important that you’re taking the time to get your house in order for the holiday rush. Whether or not this year turns out to be a windfall for retailers, you want to be ready for anything. Motto of the 2019 holiday season: have a plan but be nimble.  

Here are some essential things you need to do this month to get ready for the holiday season:  

1. Create Your Holiday Campaigns for the Month of November

This may seem early, but this is the time to take all of the strategy work from September and start creating your actual campaigns. Make sure you’re taking the time to set up all aspects of your multi-channel campaigns. Once that work is done, all you have to do is start them when the time arrives. Still looking for some inspiration, download our holiday checklist which is full of key campaigns you can run. 

2. Run Your Opt-In Campaign (Optional)

If you decide to run a holiday opt-in campaign, now is the time to do so. Get started with a series allowing people to opt–in to your holiday marketing. Make sure that you remember to include messages to your entire list at least once a month so they don’t forget about you!

3. Implement Website Changes 

You spent last month auditing your website and figuring out how to create a friendly user experience; now’s your chance to implement those changes. Whether it’s switching up the nav bar, adding some helpful pop-ups, or re-working your checkout process, make sure to complete these to-do’s before November rolls around. While you’re at it, make sure that your site is equipped to handle a large spike in visitors, so you don’t have to worry about it crashing during peak shopping days.

4. QA Your Automated Campaigns

If you plan to run any automated campaigns during the holidays, QA them to make sure that everything looks great and the timing makes sense. For certain campaigns, you may want to change the timing of your emails. For instance, if you run an abandoned cart campaign, think about shortening the time between the first and second email.

5. Train Your New Staff

If you decided that you needed to staff up for the busy season and you did your hiring in September, spend your time training your new hires in October. That way they’re ready to hit the ground running in November and wow your customers whether in-person (at the store) or remotely (customer support centers). If you haven’t finished hiring—that’s priority number one! 

Need Some Extra Holiday Help? 

If you’re looking for holiday marketing inspiration or checklists to help you through the holiday seasons, download our holiday checklist today. And if you need help with strategy or execution of your holiday campaigns, get in touch with us. Our Full-Service Agency can assist you with everything from creating a marketing strategy, to designing your campaigns, to executing your marketing campaigns for you.