The holiday season is just around the corner. Tons of people will be flooding the streets searching for gifts and treats to bring home to their loved ones. If you’re planning to leverage the upcoming holiday season to boost your bottom line, having a solid holiday marketing plan is essential.
Most businesses make the bulk of their yearly profits during the holidays. So, it’s safe to say your company won’t be the only one looking to make a pretty penny this season. To improve your chances, here are five steps to creating a holiday marketing plan that works.
How to Create a Holiday Marketing Plan That Works
If there was a perfect time to connect with customers, it would be the holiday season. Surveys show that people shop more during the holiday season than at any other time in the year. This creates the perfect opportunity for businesses to earn more profit.
Besides increasing sales, a great holiday marketing plan can help increase brand awareness and boost customer retention. Here’s how you can create one for your own brand or business:
1. Create and schedule your campaigns ahead of time
Preparation and planning is the key to a successful holiday marketing strategy. Creating your campaigns months before their scheduled launch gives you time to adjust various areas of it as needed.
For instance, your original plan could use Facebook as your primary marketing tool. Down the road, you might decide you want to switch to Instagram instead.
By planning ahead, you’re giving yourself time and space to reroute your efforts. Create a holiday marketing concept that will set your company apart from competitors.
Change your content however necessary to make it more appealing to your customers. Reschedule your timeline and rethink your tactics to reap the best results.
Finally, focus the majority of your efforts on a single holiday. Tech companies and retail stores like to emphasize Black Friday and Cyber Monday in their campaigns.
Meanwhile, restaurants focus on Thanksgiving and Christmas. What industry does your business fall under? Use this information to find a holiday to focus on.
2. Identify your target market
Clear and concise communication are two essential elements of an effective marketing campaign. Identifying your target audience can help you construct better content and advertisements. It can also help you understand the needs and preferences of your market more.
A way to do this is to analyze what products and services you offer. Evaluate which groups of people normally buy your products or services.
Based on your findings, create customer profiles and market segments of your target audience. Personalize your marketing strategy to fit the profiles of the personas you’ve created.
3. Determine what discounts or freebies you want to offer
One of the many reasons why people choose to do all their shopping during the holidays is the discounts you can get.
Everyone wants a great deal on high-quality items that typically come at a premium. If you’re looking for a way to make your products more appealing to your customers, offering discounts and freebies might just do the trick.
Strategize what discounts and freebies you want to offer. For example, short-term weekly promotions on certain products in your store.
This will give buyers more incentive to drop by your store and buy that particular product. You might also offer a membership discount or online discount codes to boost online sales.
4. Consider post-holiday marketing, too
The fun doesn’t stop when the holidays end — so why limit your marketing efforts to just the holiday season? People will still be looking for great deals long after the holidays. Take advantage of the situation and consider creating a post-holiday marketing plan too.
Share post-holiday discounts and offers across all marketing channels, e.g., Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Offer memberships or subscriptions to turn casual shoppers into loyal customers. Take this opportunity to build brand awareness and accelerate your sales further.
5. Rein in holiday marketing emails
It’s easy to get carried away with email marketing, especially during the holidays. Unfortunately, nobody likes getting their inboxes bombarded with dozens of marketing emails.
Doing this can land your emails in the spam box — which could be ineffective for your campaign, especially if the goal is to increase your sales.
Double down on your email marketing, but not to a point where you overwhelm your customers. Two or three times a week is an appropriate frequency to send email campaigns to your clients.
Use tools to monitor your campaigns and identify areas where you can improve. You can apply these changes to your next holiday campaign. Make sure you understand the importance of cybersecurity when developing your marketing email strategy. You can apply these changes to your next holiday campaign.
3 Must-try Holiday Marketing Ideas
Creating a holiday marketing plan can be overwhelming. Here are three simple holiday marketing ideas you can try:
1. Run a Contest
A contest can help generate some buzz among your customers during the holiday season. It’s also an excellent way to attract new customers to your brand and products.
Think of a prize that would motivate your target market to join your contest. Announce the upcoming contest on your social media and email newsletter.
2. Offer Coupons
Customers love getting a good deal during the holiday season. Encourage your consumers to buy your products and services by offering them discount coupons and codes.
You can distribute these coupons through your newsletter or social media. Don’t forget to allow your customers to redeem these coupons online or in-store. This will encourage them to use the coupon and not just let it sit in their inboxes.
3. Plan an Event
Your relationship with your customers should be your number one priority. Holding an in-store or online event is a great way to thank your customers for their support and patronage.
On top of that, it can be a great opportunity to interact with your audience and learn more about their needs and preferences.
Final Thoughts
Holiday promotions start earlier and earlier each year. Creating a holiday marketing plan early can help you stay ahead of the curve.
Don’t wait until late October to start planning your holiday activities. If you’re selling high-demand products, the earlier you start strategizing, the better it will be for your sales and bottom line.
