Success during special events like Cyber Monday depends on many factors as we saw in the last post on some of the keys to a successful strategy. keys to have a successful strategy. However, in this article we want to share with you some common mistakes in terms of operation that we have seen with several clients throughout our experience as a digital agency.
Many times the worst enemies turn out to be the eCommerces themselves, either due to lack of foresight or ignorance, and those who put at risk and even end up being harmed by this type of massive events. But don’t worry, from Known Online we share with you certain practices to keep in mind to anticipate and be prepared for the next Cyber Monday!
7 mistakes you should avoid on the next Cyber Monday
1) Not having an operational site during Cyber Monday
Keep in mind that the flow of sales and site traffic is multiplied by ten in massive events, so we have to be very sure of the system we have so that it does not fall with the large amount of traffic. In addition, we must do what is necessary prior to the event to optimize the loading speed as it will not only help your servers, but also the user experience when they visit you.
TIP: Test your sites in low seasons. With the help of a qualified technical team, you can simulate different scenarios in which you will test the resilience of your website to heavy traffic, code errors, inefficient infrastructure design, etc.
2) Not having ERP integrations prepared
At this point, it is similar to the previous one. If you normally receive 5,000 operations per day, it is possible that you receive 50,000 in a massive day, so your integration has to cope with this dramatic change in the number of movements and operations. If an integration goes down and the ERP does not count the order, it will not discount the stock within your platform so you can have a huge stock out which would completely ruin the event and worse, end up hurting you.
3) Not having the stock ready
It is important that in this type of events, you have enough stock prepared of your products, especially of your “workhorses” that are the most sought after by the public. Remember that if you are going to show a product and apply a promotion and investment (either in advertising, influencers, etc.), you have to have the stock of that product secured so that it is really worthwhile and you can make those sales.
4) Failure to make a general review with respect to the charge of the promotions
It is very important to check which promotions are for the event and which are not so that they do not allow accumulation because you can get into big trouble if the customer discovers that promotions can be accumulated.
It should also be noted that most of the international eCommerce platforms do not synchronize prices instantly, they have a cache and a storage, especially when there is massiveness and when we are talking about large volumes.
While VTEX, Magento or Adobe have a larger infrastructure for these events they also have crashes and if one is loading prices and promotions, ten minutes before the action is likely to not impact at 12 am.
TIP: A good practice is to make the changes earlier, for example, at 10 pm. It doesn’t affect so much to sell a little cheaper the last two hours of the previous day if that guarantees you to have everything perfect at 12 pm.
Another point to note is that in all platforms, the pricing module is separated from the promotions part so what ends up happening is that the discount is made in the pricing module so the price of the product is lowered but if there are promotions already active then those promotions apply on the price you just discounted so you can generate a big problem.
5) Failure to review operational conditions during Cyber Monday.
When the volume of operations increases in this type of events such as Cyber Monday, the requirement for internal operational people to organize all the logistics of picking, packaging, shipping, etc. also increases.
From our experience we have seen stores that used to deliver every day within 3 or 4 days and on Cyber Monday they delivered within 30 days. This delay often ends up becoming cancellations, which makes the impact of the event much smaller, so you have to be very prepared in logistics, both in the preparation of orders and in shipping, everything has to be aligned to be able to receive the change of magnitude in the number of operations.
Although it depends on the industry (since food is not the same as fashion), in general, packing and picking is solved by adding personnel for these days to prepare the order as quickly as possible. Regarding deliveries, it is recommended to talk to suppliers in advance so that they know that it is very likely to increase the volume because logistics providers also have to adjust to an intense week in order not to affect the delivery.
On the other hand, if your store belongs to a vertical that has an important participation in reverse logistics, such as Fashion, it is essential to take into account the logistics to make all the changes that are going to be many. In the Fashion area what we suggest is to try to make customizations on the site to make it clear how the sizes should be chosen because most of the returns are due to mistakes in the sizes. Or make it clear in the UX of the site how to choose the sizes so you have everything to gain in minimizing errors with reverse logistics.
TIP: In many cases there is a physical limit and delays will be generated, but it must be clearly stated on the site and communicated in a clear and visible way.
6) Failure to track orders and review means of payment
Having a good parcel delivery partner that guarantees that the packages will be sent smoothly and with an affordable speed and cost ratio is a basic element that defends you against the customer’s evaluation. In addition, having a supplier that provides you with the correct order confirmation and tracking number information so that the customer can see where their product is in real time, considerably reduces the level of queries.
It is also necessary to review the means of payment. A very common mistake is to have a poor payment process. Simplifying the payment process also has a lot to do with the user experience. If they have already gone through a process that has led them to this last step of making a purchase, the payment should be so simple and secure that it leads them to form an image that your ecommerce is not only efficient but also secure. Remember that in this type of massive events, with a higher volume of sales, it is more difficult to detect fraud.
7) Promising something you can’t keep
There are many retailers that promise, for example, the delivery of cell phones in the same day and then take 5 days. This is what is known as “Bread for today, hunger for tomorrow”, that is, it is a solution for the moment, but it generates a more serious problem in the future. It is not recommended to promise something that you cannot deliver because the customer will not buy from you again if you fail. In addition, when the seller does not respect the delivery terms, the buyer has the right to claim and receive compensation if he does not receive the agreed product through the Consumer’s Defense Office in each country.TIP: Establish very clear shipping and return policies and communicate them on the site. If you do not establish clear policies regarding returns or exchanges, you run the risk of the buyer developing insecurity when buying again.
