Our friends over at Whitespark just published this great post about updating your Google listing for the holidays so I’m sharing parts of it here for you. Much of this applies to Yelp too, if Yelp is an important lead source for you. It’s important to stay current on Google & Yelp with holiday hours, Covid updates/attributes, and more. If you need support with these things, let me know.
Adapting Your Holiday Sales Strategy for COVID
According to Google’s latest consumer trend report, half of U.S. shoppers say the pandemic will affect how they’ll shop for the holidays this year. Shopping locally is more important than ever – but everyone’s looking for a deal. What’s a small business to do?
1. Have your sales early
This year, 70% of shoppers said they intend to plan their shopping earlier to avoid crowds, and 80% plan to make fewer trips than they have in previous years. More than a third of U.S. shoppers who normally shop in stores for Black Friday say they won’t this year. It’s also important to keep in mind that postal and delivery services are usually operating above capacity for the holidays and delays are expected due to additional precautions for COVID-19.
As shoppers look to avoid crowds, plan your sales earlier this year to assure your customers that they’re really getting the best deal today from your business. If you anticipate maxed out in-store capacities, line ups or shipping delays, communicate these with shoppers to avoid negative Google reviews this holiday season.
Share your early holiday sales events with searchers with a Google My Business Event or Offer Post.
2. Keep shoppers informed of special hours, services and health & safety measures
Your business is likely operating with additional precautions due to COVID-19 and maybe even new services such as curbside pickup or service-specific hours.
This season, 53% of shoppers said they’ll choose to shop at stores that offer contactless shopping and 47% said they’ll use options like curbside pickup, in-store pickup or buy online.
To ensure a happy customer experience, let searchers know how you’re offering a safe shopping experience and any new services or services during specific hours.
In your Google My Business dashboard, open the Info section and add any relevant attributes, including amenities, health & safety and service options.
In the Info section, also add any special hours (Special hours) or service-specific hours (More hours).
Post your inventory or services on Google My Business with the Products feature. You can include a photo, description and price for every item you add.
Make Your Business Discoverable Online
You can expect more shoppers to go online this season than in years past. To get ready for the holiday shopping season, make sure your online presence including your Google My Business listing, website, social media profiles, and ads are updated with the latest information.
Again, big thanks to Allie and Darren at Whitespark for posting this original blog post today.
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