Economic uncertainty, labor shortages, rising freight costs, COVID-19 (yes, it’s still here)… oh and let’s not forget about the peak. As we head into holiday prep, we can’t ignore the R-word that’s on everyone’s mind…in fact, NOW is the time to plan for all that’s to come. Here are 5 actionable priorities you can move on right now to help future-proof your brand for a strong Q4 and to prepare for recession pressures continuing into 2023.
1. Do a budget audit: There’s no time like the present to look for efficiencies. Look at what’s genuinely driving value vs. adding dead weight in the budget, and reallocate funds to strategic priorities, or take the savings to the bank.
2. Recalibrate your marketing strategies: Focus your resources on growing your owned and earned channels and building personalized experiences. Loyal customers are the best possible antidote to inflationary paid media costs and the most valuable driver of sustainable growth.
3. Optimize the shopping funnel: To make the most of every customer visit, you need to look deeper than site conversion and AOV. Reducing checkout abandonment by a few points could equate to millions of dollars of revenue. Tread carefully- we recommend incremental, not wholesale changes, so you can validate assumptions as you go.
4. Fine-tune your pricing and assortment strategy. More isn’t always more. Have you ever heard of the “Paradox of Choice”? Too many choices can be overwhelming for shoppers.
5. Strategic alignment: Develop key performance indicators (KPIs) and create a corporate dashboard for effective reporting of each function/department. Understand what kinds of analytics are offered "out of the box" versus the ones you need to write yourself. Keeping visibility on these metrics will ensure they get the proper attention. Agree on KPIs across teams and have a shared dashboard between all stakeholders. Establish a clear vision for where you’re going and how you will get there. Create alignment across your team and the organization.
This approach will arm you with the pivot power, the quick wins, and the clear vision of the future you need to build resilience against whatever comes.
We’ll do some deep dives on these topics in the coming weeks, so make sure you follow us on LinkedIn!
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