This holiday time of year can be very good for business, but it can also be challenging. You’re likely to have lots more competition than usual, and your customers and prospects will be easily distracted by everything else going on in their lives.
Instead of fighting that tide, try to update your marketing strategies to align with the time of year and help keep your customers in the holiday spirit. Here are five tips to get you started.
1: Express gratitude for your customers
We may be past Thanksgiving, but you can still take time to let your customers know that you’re grateful for them.
This could be as simple as sending them a thank-you email, although that may get lost in the flurry of emails they’ll be getting. If you have their physical addresses, a direct mail card may be a better option. You could also choose to offer incentives specific to existing customers or give them some other special perk.
Whatever it is, showing your gratitude will keep your customers buying your products or services, and it will also help put you in the holiday spirit.
2: Start conversations
Another great way to connect with your customers is to start conversations with them. This is important at any time of the year, but it may be even more important during the holidays when they have so many other options easily available.
If you have a physical store or can interact with customers in person, that’s a perfect opportunity to start talking with them.
But if you’re only online, or if many of your customers are online, you can still find ways to engage with your audience. Through email or social media posts, you can ask them questions, perhaps finding out what they’re looking forward to for the holidays or in the new year.
However you start the conversation, the key point is follow-up. Make sure you listen to what they’re saying and respond to it. This will keep them much more engaged and eager to continue using your products or services.
3: Be festive
Your customers will also appreciate it if you bring some festivity to your marketing – after all, no one likes the Scrooge approach.
You can do this in several ways:
- Tweak your ads to mention the holidays, perhaps mentioning holidays or gifts, or including holiday-related images
- Update physical store displays as well as websites and landing pages to have some holiday warmth and cheer
- Consider creating a series of blogs or posts that focus on the holidays
By showing some warmth, holiday spirit, and a festive air, you’re more likely to attract and retain prospects and customers at this time of year.
4: Keep things simple
But it’s also important to remember that festive doesn’t have to mean complicated. Keeping things simple and clean is a better way to go.
This applies to your decorations, but it also makes sense with your marketing. Trying something new and fancy right now is not a great idea. You probably don’t have time to do justice to anything new, and your customers and prospects will be drawn more to the comfort of the familiar.
If you have a lot of ideas for things to try, start with the basics right now. You can always add on later, after the holidays, to see how those new ideas work out.
5: Work with a non-profit
And finally, you could consider working with a non-profit or donating to one.
This is something customers will appreciate at a time of year that’s about giving. They’ll feel good about supporting a business that supports charities.
You could go with a local non-profit, such as a food bank or soup kitchen, or perhaps find one that aligns well with your business. You could even poll your customers about what non-profits they most value, which will have the added bonus of increasing customer engagement while also giving you valuable feedback.
Let your holiday spirit shine With so many holidays this time of year, it’s a perfect opportunity to let your creativity find a way to bring a festive spirit to your marketing. Your prospects and customers will appreciate the extra effort, and it will add to cheer to your day as well as theirs.