The last quarter of the year determines the success of most e-shops. In some segments, two and a half months, including Black Friday and the Christmas season, account for up to 80% of the year's turnover. Those who don't make it lose record sales and a head start for the next season. Ads are running, ROI is growing, only for the website to stop working, stock to run out or the bank to block payment on Meta platforms, turning a successful campaign into a problem no e-commerce store wants to experience in a flash. As Honza Bartoš, an expert in performance advertising, points out, the biggest seasonal oversights are not only in advertising accounts, but often in warehousing, logistics or budget decisions.
Unpreparedness: the classic that hurts the most
"Every year it starts the same way. By September, specific targets, budget options and crisis scenarios should already be on the table. In October, ideally, there would be testing of creatives and a path to the right mix of campaigns for each stage of the customer journey. But the reality? In mid-November, they're still tweaking banners and deciding whether or not to add a benefit to the campaign. Companies often confuse preparation with campaigning. But the real preparation starts long before that - with data, logistics, people and processes. Without these basics, even the best creative can't save anything," says Honza Bartoš, performance advertising expert and owner at honzabartos.cz.
What companies lack most often in preparation
Many e-shops are unclear about which campaigns actually brought conversions last year and which only generated traffic. Without a detailed analysis of the previous year, it is difficult to build a strategy for the next one. "The evaluation should not be done after the season, but continuously throughout the year," points out David Pála, CMO at Tomas Arsov, adding that this allows the company to create its own TOP marketing mix, engage all channels and test, for example, collaborations with influencers. In season, it is then advisable to use those who have proven to be the best performers over the long term.
"A lot of companies know how much they want to invest in campaigns and what kind of ROI (cost to turnover ratio) they can afford, but they are no longer clear about when to increase the budget and when to decrease it. They lack scenarios for different situations. A campaign can perform great, but without clearly defined boundaries, the team is often afraid to scale the budget further. Conversely, when the PNO starts to grow, no one knows exactly where the point is to put the brakes on. Yet it is these limits that decide whether a good campaign becomes a great one or a missed opportunity," explains Vít Schaffarczik, performance advertising specialist at honzabartos.cz.
The goal is not just growth. The goal is to know why and how
Most companies set a general goal, such as "20% turnover growth", but no longer distinguish how much of it should be acquisition, how much remarketing and what profit frame is sustainable. There is also a lack of linkage to short, medium and long term plans. Short-term targets often address cashflow or stock clearance, whereas medium and long-term targets should take into account seasonality, for example, that February and March tend to be weaker months and budgets and expected PNOs need to be adjusted accordingly. In addition, targets do not have to be just about turnover. It also makes sense to work with the customer database, retention or expanding brand awareness. Do activities that deliver results in the longer term.
Test, evaluate and adjust
Testing new formats and approaches is important, but shouldn't be the only pillar of a seasonal strategy. Companies should combine innovation with what's already proven to work, and most importantly, start early. "It's a good idea to boost ads in October when they are not as expensive. This will get you traffic, which you can then reach with remarketing in the season. We've been running ongoing Christmas campaigns since November, more branded, but it works - people hear about the brand before they start shopping," Pála recommends the approach.
The performance of campaigns is also heavily influenced by the store's website itself. Many e-tailers underestimate the simple tweaks that can deliver tens of percent extra performance. "During an event for Brand GAP, we added a prominent bar at the top of the website to inform about a discount code. Sales were up 30% from the previous days. The next day, we added a visible repricing on the products (instead of the discount code) and overall performance jumped by almost 90%. As a result, we were able to scale the ads much more as conversion rates went up and PNOs went down," says Dominik Rzounek, CMO at CS Apparel Group.
When scripts and rapid response are lacking
It's not just marketing that's lacking on campaigns, but also logistics. All it takes is a small mistake and a well-paced event quickly stalls on traffic. A typical scenario is running a large discount promotion without increasing capacity in the warehouse. Orders start to pile up, the team falls behind schedule and shipments leave late. That's why it's crucial to keep track of stock levels and project them into promotions. If an item is out of stock, campaigns should reflect this, as well as inform when it is available again. And if e-commerce sites are not prepared for increased traffic, traffic can fail in the first hour of Black Friday. "Yet the solution is simple, and that is to have a contingency plan even in the event of success. If the event catches on, it's essential to know who approves budget increases and how, what the limits are. Conversely, if performance drops, it must be clear who decides on campaign adjustments and how quickly," explains Bartoš.
In e-commerce, speed is of the essence. If a company has approval processes stretched out over several days, or marketing communicates with the warehouse only via email, it loses the opportunity to respond in time before the first wave of orders arrives. "I see it all the time - the warehouse doesn't keep up, management finds out too late, the ads keep running and the customer waits. At that point, it's all about reputation. Poor communication and slow response can do more damage than a poorly set-up campaign. Customers will usually forgive it if a package arrives a little later, but not if it arrives after Christmas instead of December 20. At that point, it's no longer about campaign performance, it's about loss of trust," comments Bartoš.
According to Bartoš, the ideal setup means having a clearly defined rhythm and processes during the season. Short daily calls or voice stand-ups help, so the whole team has an overview of the situation in the warehouse. In larger e-shops, the workload can even be monitored automatically and reacted to in real time. It's also key to know who can make an immediate decision to stop or boost campaigns, and to ensure a direct link between marketing, warehouse and customer support. If there are delays, everyone needs to know about it and be able to communicate this to customers.
Underestimating payments at Meta
The Meta (Facebook and Instagram) tends to be extremely busy during the season. All it takes is a low card limit and campaigns stop at the worst possible time. "Setting limits within a payment method is a detail that can affect the success of the entire campaign," Bartoš concludes. It's also a good idea to have a backup payment card added to the system, ideally from a different bank, so that campaigns don't stop running if one transaction doesn't go through. Once the ads go off during peak demand, it's a "loss" you'll never catch up on.
Source: mediaguru.cz