4 Marketing Tips You can Use this Holiday Season
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| Christmas can be a make or break season for many small business owners |
Believe it or not, Christmas is right around the corner and
Thanksgiving and Black Friday are closer than we think. Although it may seem
too early to begin holiday marketing, now is the time to start advertising your
business and any holiday sales you may have coming down the pipeline. But,
before sending yourself and your marketing team into a tailspin to get the
process going, here are some marketing tips that can help get you and your
business ready for the fast approaching holiday season.
Always Plan Ahead
While it may seem too late to dive into a full blown holiday
marketing campaign, there is still time to get the most out of the few months
you have left before the spending season begins. Just like with any great
marketing campaign, it is all about planning ahead. Make sure to have a clear
idea of what your message is going to be, who the target audience is, how you
are going to market, and what the campaign should achieve before you begin.
This does not mean you need to have a fully fleshed out plan with every single
detail – as long as the business has a clear idea of where it is headed, the
campaign is almost guaranteed to be successful even with only a few short weeks
left before the holiday.
Make Sure Your Promotions are Fresh
When you have had successful holiday promotions in the past,
it can be easy to send out the same promotions year after year. Business owners
like consistency and sending out a recurring promotion every season may seem
like a safe bet. The trick to holiday marketing is showing customers something
they have never seen before and proving to them that they can benefit from the
deals the business is offering. If you are dead set on offering the same deals
this season, consider changing up how you market it. Redesign flyers, email,
and other materials to grab consumer’s attention and consider adding a little
extra giveaway to the deal, like an additional discount or multiple purchase
promotion.
Remind Consumers How Much Time they Have Left to Buy
While you do not want to put customers into a panic about
the amount of shopping time that is left before the holidays, it may work to
your advantage to gently remind them that time is running out. Adding a
countdown to your regular marketing flyers or cards and sending out daily
social media messaging on Facebook or Twitter about how many days are left to
finish their Christmas list is a great way to incite some type of urgency in
consumers and get them out into the market to buy, ideally with your business. In
conjunction with the countdown, make sure to create a buzz around your specific
holiday deals and promotions to bring customers in and get them excited about
your offers.
Make Sure to Say Thank You
Creating interest around your holiday promotions and
boosting sales during this spending season is important for the business, but
so is showing customers that their patronage is appreciated. Christmas and the
holiday season is the perfect time to show consumers how much you care about
them and how much their business means to you. Make sure to work in sending
thank you or holiday cards to your best customers and even consider offering
them exclusive deals for their loyalty to the business. This type of
appreciation will go a long way, not just during the holidays, but for your
business all year round.
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*Photo Courtesy of Graham Hills via Creative Commons License
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