3 tips for turning 15-minutes of TV fame into long-term loyalty

For today’s ecommerce brands, appearances on national TV shows like Shark Tank and Good Morning America can be the launching pad for major success — from landing funding to boosting brand awareness and sales.

But ensuring you’re set up to handle the sudden influx of sales and website visits after the show airs can be the make or break for a business. If you succeed, you have the potential to turn the show’s followers into loyal customers. However, if you don’t meet shopper expectations, it could mean major missed opportunities– and even burned bridges. Below are some ways brands can prepare for such success across three key areas of business.

Nailing web experience

First, you’ll need to ensure your website is ready for the influx of traffic and orders. Before the segment airs, make sure your website gives the best impression of your business. Complete any website refreshes and ensure all software updates are installed and implemented ahead of time.

Additionally, perform on-site testing to confirm your website can handle a high volume of traffic. One of the most important tests is the peak-load test, which determines the maximum number of users your site can host before its performance decreases. Often, this can be the biggest spike in traffic you will have seen to date. Having your site crash is frustrating and you can lose potential customers.

Because many of these shoppers will be experiencing your brand and site for the first time, make your purchase funnel as quick and seamless as possible. For example, allow shoppers to make a purchase without having to create an account, or integrate third-party plugins like Facebook and Google making it easy for customers to sign in using existing credentials. By offering transparency around things like shipping costs early in the purchase process, you can also help customers avoid last-minute surprises that may lead to cart abandonment. Reducing these barriers will help shoppers follow through with their purchase– before they have time to reconsider.

Prepare for a shipping overload

Once your website is up to speed, you should shift your focus to shipping and delivery, as it can become one of the biggest challenges when dealing with a high volume of orders. Leveraging a shipping software that allows you to pre-set automated workflows, and ensuring it’s integrated with multiple carriers, will help streamline and expedite the process, ensuring that you’re getting the best possible rates for your shipments, and that labels can be produced for hundreds or thousands of orders in mere seconds. What’s more, by branding the shipping experience — from your shipping labels and tracking pages to self-service returns portals — will help keep your brand top of mind throughout, and well beyond the delivery process.

For example, after appearing on Good Morning America, Latika Soaps had to drop ship a huge influx of orders — over 2,000– in 24 hours. With this being 946% larger than their last biggest order, Latika turned to web-based e-commerce shipping solution, ShipStation. With their new ability to quickly and easily manage, ship and track orders and returns, Latika was better able to turn short-term sales boosts into long-term customer loyalty.

Ramp up your marketing

Finally, take advantage of the opportunity to convert the immediate influx of interest into longer-term loyalty. While viewers will likely be coming to your website to purchase the specific product that was promoted on the show, there are a number of ways to drive bigger onsite purchases. One tactic is to recommend related products prior to checkout, for example suggesting no-show socks or a fitness tracker for someone who added running shoes to their cart. From sharing promo codes to use towards the next purchase in order confirmation emails and encouraging shoppers to share their purchases on social media to including relevant product samples in shipments, beyond simply capturing email addresses at check-out for future targeting, creative post-purchase marketing approaches can also help turn one-time shoppers into repeat customers.

For many brands appearing on shows like Shark Tank and Good Morning America, missteps can turn big wins into major roadblocks for success after your appearance. But by staying a step ahead in three key areas, brands can ensure an exceptional experience for every new customer and turn their 15 minutes of fame into long-term business growth.

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