When autumn starts, will you be ready for the holidays, having already created a gift guide, email and social media strategies and more? Create an email marketing strategy. Since holiday shopping starts as early as November, you’ll want to craft your email marketing messages now and schedule them to be sent automatically. Not all customers are created equal, either, so use your customer data to segment your email marketing. Creating a sense of urgency is one of the most effective strategies to make consumers feel that something valuable is being offered that they don’t want to miss out on. For example, American Express displayed a countdown to the expiration of a special Amazon deal it offered its customers. Think about a "free" shipping strategy. Brainstorm some fun holiday topics and plan out your content using a content calendar. Create a holiday gift guide. Finding the perfect gift can be stressful, so make things easy for your customers by creating a holiday gift guide.
When autumn starts, will you be ready for the holidays, having already created a gift guide, email and social media strategies and more?
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‘Tis the season for online shopping. Well, not quite yet, but it’ll be here before you know it. In fact, according to CPC Strategy’s survey results, 35.5 percent of shoppers surveyed planned on starting their holiday gift shopping before Thanksgiving. That’s why you need to start putting together your holiday marketing plan now.
As soon as autumn hits, shoppers are bombarded with stunning holiday advertising and jaw-dropping deals from companies that will be fighting for their attention during that busy season. But how will your company break through the noise and get consumers to make holiday memories with your business?
Let’s get festive, then, and think about seven things you might consider when putting together your holiday marketing plan.
Create an email marketing strategy.
There’s no better way to boost your holiday sales than to send deals straight into shoppers’ inboxes. Email still converts the best for online holiday shopping. According to Shopify, a staggering 8.8 billion data points were collected on Black Friday in 2017, in the form of email sign-ups and other lead-generation tactics.
Since holiday shopping starts as early as November, you’ll want to craft your email marketing messages now and schedule them to be sent automatically.
Not all customers are created equal, either, so use your customer data to segment your email marketing. For example, if a large proportion of your customer base are busy moms, don’t send a broad, unpersonalized email; instead, send them one with products and tips to ease their stress during the holiday season. Personalized emails will make you stand out from the rest.
Have a countdown timer for sales.
Ever heard of FOMO (a.k.a. “the fear of missing out”)? Creating a sense of urgency is one of the most effective strategies to make consumers feel that something valuable is being offered that they don’t want to miss out on. An eye-catching way to create urgency is to display countdown timers for sales.
For example, American Express displayed a countdown to the expiration of a special Amazon deal it offered its customers.
You can easily add a countdown timer to your website for free using the T(-) Countdown plug-in for WordPress. Seeing a visual symbol, like a countdown timer ticking down the minutes, pushes consumers into action by raising the urgency level to high.
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