How to Create Your Holiday Marketing Plan

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Your marketing plans for Holiday 2020 may look a little different than it has in years past.  Here are some things you will need to ask yourself and your team before you start planning. What do the holidays look like for our customers?  Is there anything unique or different that our customers will need?  What can we provide them during this time? 

Also, pay attention to what your competition is doing.  What does their social presence look like?  Do they have any special offerings?  What are they not offering that you can?  What sets you apart from other competitors?  Knowing the answers to some of these questions will help you create your holiday marketing strategy.

How to Plan Your Holiday Marketing Calendar

When planning out your marketing calendar consider your results from last year.  What performed and what didn’t?  Focus on what campaigns added value to your business and your customers.  This will give you some insight into what will work this year.  Although this year may have some level of difficulty to determine what will perform well and what will not.  The economic forecasters do say that mobile, E-commerce, and BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store) are going to be solid performers this year.  So, what does that mean for you, your business, and your customers?

Holiday Shopping Season Predicitons

Here are some predictions for the holiday season in the year 2020.  

  • Creditcards.com estimates 71% will shop mostly online; with last year 51% of the shoppers were online shoppers.
  • Deloitte predicts a 1% to 1.5% increase in holiday spending this year.
  • Deloitte also projects E-commerce holiday sales to generate between $182 billion and $196 billion this year with a sales growth of 25% to 35% YOY.

Early preparation is key for a strong holiday season.  Did you know that 40% of shoppers start their holiday shopping before Halloween?  Decide what holidays are important to you and your customers.  The big ones being Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. There is also Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa … and that’s just for November and December! 

Holiday Marketing Tips

  • Personalization. Use the data that you have about your customers & prior sales/campaigns to personalize your marketing efforts. 
  • Consistency. We’ve discussed this before on the blog, but consistency is key for marketing. Consumers are being bombarded with ads and emails, so make sure you are promoting your products and services consistently and effectively. 
  • Reward Loyalty. This year it may be more difficult to grow your customer base during the holidays depending on what industry you are in. Offer your loyal customers a sneak preview to sales or a special discount. You can also simply just send them an email sincerely thanking them for their business. 
  • Be accessible.  Communicate with your customers.  That could be email, texts, social media, etc.  Surveys can help you better understand your customers needs and what they would like that communication to look like.  By doing this, you can better provide a more tailored experience – which could give you an advantage over your competitors.
  • Brand affinity.  This is a metric that allows market researchers to predict how a consumer will behave towards various brands.  When a consumer feels as though they connect with a brand and share similar values this creates brand affinity.  When building a relationship with your customer founded on emotional connection, such as brand affinity, this can ensure that they stay with you for a long time.
  • Philanthropic mission.  If you have one, make it visible.  Many consumers like to go with a product or service that is giving back or making a difference.
  • Partner.  Partnering with a local business on special offers.  This can boost your exposure to a new customer base.  
  • Be creative.  As consumers find new ways to maintain traditions or create new traditions this year – support them in figuring it out or help to inspire them.
  • Say “Thank You!”  Say it in advance, after the purchase, or while providing the service.  Show appreciation to your customer.  Remember they could have chosen to do business with your competitor.  Be grateful they chose you. 

It is challenging to have a laser focus on where you should spend your time and your money while you are juggling all the other aspects of your business, especially during these times.  At AGC, we build conversion-driven strategies for your business, execute your plan, represent your brand the way you want it to be represented, and get the results you need to keep growing your business.

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