This year brings us a growing new challenge: How to stand out amidst the holiday rush in a tight economy. We all know that consumers are still going to buy. But what they buy will be the result of more research and considerable planning.

This was certainly confirmed during Black Friday shopping this year as reported by Mashable.com. The good news was that online retailers saw an average purchase of $170.19, a 35% increase over last year. This report also indicated that online retailers had an average bounce rate 40% higher and browsing sessions 5% lower than last season. This suggests that buyers have a clear idea of what they’re looking for before they log on. The good news for LDB readers: Apparel and jewelry retailers were the big winners!

From our experience, we’re offering you a few ideas on how to stand out amidst tight spending this year:

Target your niche

Don’t just know you niche…but target it! Make sure you’re speaking directly to those who are most likely to purchase your brand. If your product and promotions are directed at this audience, in language that they understand, for a price that they are willing to pay, you’re in the game!  I would suggest paying close attention to online resources like Google Analytics to determine who is visiting your site, when, and for how long. For example,  I realized at one point that I was getting most of my inquiries from Georgia and Florida, so I started communicating more with retailers and consumers in that area. The result was more sales!

Fill a Need

Buyers are not shopping on impulse this year, so your products must fill a need for your niche market. For example, if you’re manufacturing stylish bags that are 100% recyclable and reusable, make sure you’re explaining to your niche market that they need to have these bags on hand in the back of their car for their frequent quick trips to the natural food store. They’re durable, reusable, eco-friendly and far more stylish than any other bag on the market. Your niche customer will care!

Be Real!

This is probably the most important point I’ll make in this post. The retail climate is quickly changing in the favor of retailers who are connecting with customers and revealing more of their personalities. Whether you’re making friends on twitter, telling your story on your blog, keeping customers updated on facebook or meeting face-to-face at event boutiques, the relationship that you build with your core niche will grow your business exponentially. If you aren’t already incorporating these strategies in your marketing plan, you MUST! (Click here for another recent post on this topic). But don’t expect results from relationship marketing quickly! All relationships take time, but as your audience gets to know the real you, they’ll feel a growing connection to your brand.

Make it easy

When a customer has done their research, shopped around for color, style, size and price…the last thing you need is to lose the sale from a broken link, an expired coupon code, mis-information or slow follow-up. So double check all of things regularly over the next month and pay attention to messages from potential customers. They are key to closing the sale!