Christmas is probably the most busy time for any marketing professional. And no wonder - some businesses make even 20% of their annual profit during this time. Check out our party-tricks to make most of the weeks in the run up to the festive season.
1. Start early – but not too early! (No, July is not ok!)
People usually need time to plan their holiday shopping and garner some ideas, so reminding your customers that Christmas is coming at the end of November is definitely a good idea. Schedule a series of newsletters that will go out at regular intervals before Christmas with a nice personal touch in them - maybe sharing a simple recipe for every weekend of the festive season? Throw in some discount vouchers too (see point 7.)
2. Send paper cards to top clients.
This will show that you really care. In the age of automated emails, the effort put into sending a physical letter is actually golden. If you have any particularly good high-ticket clients, a hand-written thank-you note will not only establish great customer experience for your brand, but also remind them about you and who knows, maybe your product or service is actually what they were just looking for…
3. Organize a shopping event every Friday for 4 weeks.
Anything - from a 2-hour special promotion time-window in your online store to a Santa visit for children of your clients if you have a brick-and-mortar store – works as long as it justifies sending your customers an email or notification. Meeting your clients out of work context established good brand image too.
4. Ask customers to share their Christmas memory on your social media and reward them.
Content is king, and user-generated content is the king of kings. It not only increases engagement twice as much as traditional marketing copy, but also is a lot cheaper than content generated by marketers. Why not organize a competition on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or another platform relevant to your business asking your customers to share their most special Christmas memory?
5. Organize a competition for customers with discounts as prizes.
The competition wouldn’t make any sense without prizes though. Make sure the prizes remind your customers of your business and make them spend more money in it though. Nobody likes branded pens or other marketing gadgets, so don’t waste your money and time on ordering them. Instead, offer your customers discount vouchers as prizes in your competition.
6. Share a personal story.
Christmas is the time when people are bombarded with marketing message. Only those with a really personal touch have the chance to stand out from the crowd. Don’t focus on product promotion, instead, tell your customers a personal and heat-warming (brand) story – e.g. if you’re selling home-backed gingerbread, tell them about how the recipe was passed down for generations in your family.
7. Give your customers discount vouchers as presents.
Again – you want to show some love to your most loyal customers. But at the same time, you want them to buy even more from you. Giving a discount voucher is an excellent trade-off.
