Marketing During Season Changes & Holidays. 8 Simple Tips To Get You Through
Keeping sales consistent through all seasons and all holidays is a tough thing to accomplish. When marketing, some businesses really know how to take advantage of every season change and every holiday, even the less popular ones. There are business owners who see a surge in sales during the start of a new season and over the many holidays, while others hear crickets all year. If you are cleaning out last year’s pickle jar to collect crickets again, don’t do it just yet. Try these 8 tips first and soon you may be chirping with cheer!
1. Great offers: We all love to save money, but sometimes we want to see more than just a discounted rate. Step outside the box a little bit, and think of ways to sweeten the deal. Maybe your customers would like a free item with a minimum purchase, or a free gift card with a minimum purchase. Speaking of gift cards, they really still do hold quite a bit of power, so take advantage. In fact, according to a survey conducted by Gift Card Granny, “65% of gift card holders spend an extra 38% beyond the value of the card.” Now that can mean some serious holiday cash for your business!
Whether you offer physical gift cards, e-cards, or both, it would be great to incorporate a new season or upcoming holiday into your gift card designs. To make sure your changes are noticed, change the design for each season and upcoming holiday and market them accordingly.
2. Utilize those trends: Researching current trends (products, etc.) that relate to your business can be very useful. Even if you don’t actually sell the products or offer the services that are trending, you can still find a way to connect the dots. Be creative with marketing efforts, and you will find a way to include those hot topics in your content. Discuss them any way you can to increase your chances of being seen and don’t be afraid to include a reference to the season or upcoming holiday!
3. Stay social: If your business utilizes social media, then don’t forget to utilize social media! To increase visibility, post regularly and even more around the holidays and the start of a new season. Social media is also a great place to connect the dots with those trends mentioned above!
4. Cool visuals: We all want to click on something cool and pretty … so, make something cool and pretty. Oh, and do it often! You can take your pick from images, videos, GIF’s, infographics, and more. Did you know that just including the word ”video” in the subject line of an email increases clickthrough rates by 65%? And again, incorporate the season or upcoming holiday into your visuals.
5. Keep in touch: Don’t be afraid to reach out to past and current customers regularly as doing so is key for your growth. Provide them with useful content throughout the year and let them know how you can be of service ... again!
6. Catchy countdowns: For an upcoming holiday, create an engaging campaign by using a holiday countdown, such as the 12 days of Christmas or the 8 days of Hanukkah. And, the same idea can be used for season changes. Think, 10 days until spring or summer, or something similar. Don’t forget to include a nice discount or giveaway for each day!
7. No “I” in team (but there is one in “business”) : Reach out to fellow small business owners and maybe they’d have an interest in teaming up to bring in the new season or holiday. Together, you can sponsor a small event or run a campaign.
8. Start NOW: You get it :)
Hope all goes well!
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