With the December holiday season over, take a deep breath… it’s now time to start planning out 2008. This month, we’re focusing on a number of changes you can do to improve your e-commerce business and sanity!

1. Look back across 2007. Do you see any trends? When were your peaks? Why? Did you try something new? Did it pay off or fail dismally?
2. Optimize your Operations. What can you do to optimize your operations? Have you invested in any new technology?
3. Deconstruct your Design. Does your brand carry across your site? Is your site easy to use?
4. Become the Expert. Are you the expert in your field? Your unique experience is what sets you apart from competition. Learn how to teach others, and become the expert.
5. “I write the words that make the whole world buy.” Because we’re dealing with e-commerce, it’s rare that we have the face-to-face contact with our customers that brick and mortar stores do. The best way to create a connection with your customer is effective listening and replying – most often via e-mail or on your site.
6. Bring in New Customers. Drive traffic to your site by a well-managed search engine marketing and affiliate marketing campaign. Use “Web 2.0″ effectively with a blog, social networking, etc.
7. Tip your waitress, unless the service is terrible. Would you leave a sizable gratuity at a restaurant if there was a lengthy wait time, slow service, and the server constantly got your order wrong? Probably not. If you provide your customers with bad service, they’ll take their business across the street. Optimize and maximize your customer service processes to keep your customers happy.
8. Ya’ll come back now, ya hear? You’ve provided great service, and a buyer is familiar with your company. Now, bring them back. Look at what they bought, and find out what else they might be interested with. They’ve bought something, and likely given you permission to market to them. Give them opportunities to buy from you again.
9. Whaddaya Want?! Look at who your customers are. Even though you hope everyone is your customer - it’s probably more segmented than that. Find out what they want, and cater features to them. Are they impulse shoppers? Add related items and cross sell. Are they often repeat customers? Add account registration. New features are coming out all the time. Talk to your developer about adding the latest and greatest.
10. Analyze This! Use your analytics package to determine where your traffic is coming from and the path they’ve used to find you. Figure out other ways people might and plan campaigns around it. Research the trends in e-commerce buying. Take a good look at what your competition is doing, too.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll take a look at each of these areas. We’ll give you the basics to get you started and point to resources that can help, if you want to take a bigger step.