Get more prospects to your site to increase holiday traffic and seasonal sales. Here are five easy tips to tune up search marketing activities, web site visibility and seasonal emailings for better returns on your time and marketing investment.

1. Use Holiday Key Words at the Web Site

• Rewrite Introduction Copy on a main landing page to include Holiday key words: Christmas, Hannukkah, Kwaanza, gifts, giving, presents, spirit of the season.
• Write headlines for inside pages of the web site that include at least one Holiday Key Word and one Key Word unique to your product category. For Example: Give a Gift of Warmth This Season With These Insulated Parkas.

2. Use a 1-in-20 Key Word Rule of Thumb

The University of Michigan tracks customer satisfaction levels with nondurable household goods: apparel, athletic shoes, breweries, cigarettes, food manufacturing, pet food, personal care and cleaning products and soft drinks.

Of interest in the latest satisfaction pulse check: Even in the current “tough economy,” the customer satisfaction index dipped only 0.1% (one-tenth of one percent) during 3Q 2008. Overall, it currently pegs at 75 on a 100-point scale.

Founder of the American Customer Service Satisfaction Index, Claes Fornell, noted:

·   Customer satisfaction appears to be flattening; no surprise in “rocky” economy

·   Customer Service is key to customer retention, especially in a tough economy

·   Companies with higher satisfaction levels also have better sales and profits

·   The 0.1% drop from July through September this year is actually modest, given the overall climate

 See Customer Satisfaction: Ante Goes Up When Economy Is Down in CRM Buyer.

1. Recharge Marketing Plans
2. Stalk Hot Merchandise Trends and Brands Before Buying
3. Take This Tax Break Before December 31
4. Take a Break: It’s Not All Doom & Gloom. Niche and Segmented Markets Still Live.

1. Recharge the Marketing Plan

Still searching for uni-size undies and SmartPhone batteries that never fail? Why would your Marketing Plan – however glitzy the charts or humble the Action Lists – still be chugging along on the same old assumptions from three financial quarters back?? Stuff happens.

Every wholesale apparel source or retail chain store buyer … every mid-sized jewelry reseller or no-warehouse eCommerce dropshipper of fashion accessories … every buyer/seller in the merchandise chain needs a marketing plan. No Worries: Writing a good marketing blueprint is not like thrashing out that intimidating Business Plan Thesis due at the end of M.B.A. courses.

ASD/AMD stages the nation’s largest merchandise trade shows – matching-making Buyers and Sellers, Exhibitors and Attendees – who are sourcing gifts, jewelry, variety and general merchandise. The comprehensive ASD/AMD portfolio connects manufacturing and wholesale sellers with buyers for independent retailers and international chain stores. They’ve been organizing the ASD/AMD Marketplace since 1961.