If you were waiting for the perfect time to start building your end-of-year campaigns, the time is now! This end of year period can be a great head start for next year\’s profits. A marketing strategy can be successful only when planned well.
Before you create your marketing campaign, you need to decide what you want to achieve at the end of it all. Once you have decided on your big-picture goals, you can set smaller and SMART goals – goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, timely and relevant. Why? The more specific you are, the easier it will be to gauge the deviation and whether your goals have been met.
Play into the holidays
It is true that people are more focused on the holidays in the month of December, but that does not mean you take the month off and stop selling. Instead, give your customers what they want. Create sales, marketing strategies and events with holiday themes. Do a 12-days of Christmas giveaway, a Christmas themed contest, offer your products and services as gift packages and create holiday-themed mailers and coupons.
Give back in some way
The holiday season is all about the spirit of giving. Show your customers that you support a specific non-profit, charity, or local organization. Offer to match a percentage of sales with donations to one of these groups. Organize a food drive or have your staff volunteer at a local food kitchen. Your customers want to see you doing some good this time of year and they will support you with their business as a result.
Cross promote
Let’s say you are a jewellery business. Can you partner with a clothing line or hair salon and cross-promote each other\’s products and services? It can be something as simple as a popup on both of your websites, a bundled package that offers one product from each store or simply a coupon for the other retailer you include with your customer\’s receipt. This can help drive business to both businesses. Offer one big bargain a day.
Offering big discounts (30% or more) on one well-known item each day to bring Christmas shoppers in can work for you if you have well-known brand merchandise or items that people are looking for. Make sure your discount is worthwhile. Shoppers are used to being spoiled. So puny little 5, 10 or even 20% discounts are not going to cut it unless you do something like a 20% off storewide sale. On individual items, the higher the discount, the better. Shoppers will compare.
Create a sense of urgency
The key to marketing around the holidays is to create a sense of urgency that tells your customers the deals they see before they will be gone come December 25. This price or the extra bonuses you are offering are only good during the holiday shopping season.
Send thank you cards with special offers
Everyone likes to feel appreciated, and that includes your most loyal customers. For your biggest clients or those who frequent your business, send a holiday card thanking them for their business and support. Include a special coupon just for them. Better yet, host a special event just for this select group of people that offers special savings not available to the public.
Offer free shipping:
If you are worried that other retailers are going to attract your customers this time of year, offering free shipping might just be the thing to bring them back to you. Granted, it is an added expense for you, but it can help boost sales.
Offer gift wrapping:
Most people do not like to wrap gifts. Offer this service for free with any purchase in the month of December. It may sound like an insignificant add on, but it is something that will help your business stand out from your competitors.
Be aggressive but not pushy
The reality is consumers are inundated with holiday specials, so you will have to be aggressive with your marketing efforts to stand out. That does not mean reaching out to your database every day of the week, but it can require being more aggressive than you might be at other times of the year.
Families who come downtown get all kinds of free entertainment-and lots of opportunities to get their Christmas shopping done while all the downtown businesses are open. If your town does not have something like this going on this Christmas season, what would it take to get such an event going next year?
There is nothing to prevent you from holding an event of your own either. The trick is to plan something that will tie into your products or services in some way.
For instance, a kitchen store could hold a cooking class and benefit from increased sales of the products used in the class. A yoga studio could hold a free class to encourage January signups-and offer gift certificates to encourage participants to spread the word. Put your thinking cap on and ask yourself, \”Why would I go to that (event)?\” In other words, what is the benefit to the customer? No benefit equals no turnout.
References:
Optimonk.com
BusinessNews
Thebalancesmb.com
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