Black Monday Is Approaching and Most On Line Retailers Will Miss A Great Opportunity

As reported in the Wall Street Journal on November 21, 2005, a  big day for on line retailers is the Monday after Thanksgiving. The author ties this to the big shopping day known as black Friday which follows the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday marks the official start of the Christmas selling frenzy. Of course retailers have been figuring out how to begin the Christmas selling season as early as July.

Black Monday is expected because this is the day the everyone returns to work and when many people have access to high speed internet lines that are  their for the convenience of their employer. Of course the employer's convenience is ignored and people will log on and do a lot of shopping on line that day after having been influenced by the ads in the papers and on TV over the long weekend.

Now whether Black Monday meets or exceeds on line retailer expectation or not, it is very clear that on line shopping is significant and growing. It is also clear to this business consultant that most on line retailers continue to miss a great opportunity by being totally focused on the promotion and sale. Of course, the sale is important but the relationship with the visitor is more important. Now, there are some companies who are doing a great job of communicating with their customers. 100% of the communication with one exception is totally focused on product deals.

Retailers would benefit tremendously from what information marketers already know. The moment a person is at your on line or off line store, you need to be set up to welcome them and encourage them to leave you their contact information if they do not buy. If they do purchase your product you must be capturing all of their on line and off line information if at all possible and have a very warm but persistent follow up strategy.

If they do not purchase your offer then it is up to you to give them a reason to give you basic contact information. On line this is a gift and that gift can be as easy as a free report or ebook. I have seen only a few retailers do this yet and I receive a lot of promotion material on line and off line. What is even more amazing to me is that it is easy to do.

Author: Steve Pohlit, a business consultant who has helped companies in many industries including: retail, manufacturing, wholesale distribution, restaurant, real estate and trucking achieve increased profits. All information published by Steve, unless otherwise noted, may be republished without restriction with this resource box intact.  For more information please visit www.stevepohlit.com