Marketing Tips for this Holiday Season

The holidays are right around the corner and that means that it is the time for shopping. Whether it is Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or Christmas shopping, customers are going to be on the hunt for the best deals and offers this season. 

Since just about every brand you know will be amping up their campaigns around now, it is important to stand out. Just while using their phones every yday, your customer will come across thousands of ads. So having a campaign that sticks with them is extremely important. When it comes to actually making purchases, the customer will remember only a handful of ads that they have seen, and making sure yours are one is extremely important. 

1. Understand Why this Season is So Important

Of course, the holiday season has always had an extremely important place for marketing. However, the 2023 season is more important than ever. This is an opportunity for many companies to return to form. For many families, this year will mark the first since the pandemic for a chance to reunite. Plus, as the country begins to recover from an economic downturn, people who have held off on purchases will be looking forward to spending more. 

2. Start Early

Albert Vaisman, founder of Honest Brand Reviews said, around now, you should already have your marketing campaign ready to go. Even though TV tropes will have you thinking that plenty of people wait until Christmas Eve to get their shopping done, this is far from the truth for the vast majority. In fact, over a third of shoppers start their shopping before November even starts, and by the end of November, this number jumps up to nearly 70%. 

James Owen of Click Intelligence said, etting ahead of other brands can be the key to your success. Many brands start focusing on holiday marketing near the end of November, but by this time, most of their customers have already started shopping. So it can be a major advantage to start early. That way, when the customer goes to shop, they have only seen a handful of holiday campaigns, and yours will be one of them. At a time when standing out can be the most difficult thing, you can stand out by simply getting ahead of the pack. 

3. Create Emotional Appeal

Nicole Bolton, a fashion designer shared, even though many Americans make purchases based upon information and rationale, the holiday season is the time for emotional appeal. During the season, it is very common for people to be more emotionally charged, and to make decisions based on their feelings. Consumers are seeing constant messaging in media about the importance of family and of giving back, but there. They are more likely to splurge on family members they are not able to see as frequently. Since many people have saved up all year for this season, they are more likely to be persuaded into spending a little more. 

Many companies are known for their emotional ad campaigns during the holidays. The prime example of this is the annual John Lewis Christmas advert. This campaign has been ongoing for 15 years. In the United Kingdom, the launch of this ad is seen as an event, and marks the beginning of the countdown to Christmas. This campaign has become synonymous with Christmas because it creates ads that tug on people’s heartstrings, and lead to discussion throughout the nation. 

4. Launch Memorable Social Media Campaigns

Social Media is the best place for you to be advertising. Create a varied ad campaign, with a mix of traditional ads, influencer PR and native advertising. This will keep you on the mind of the consumer. Native ads in particular can be used to create a long-lasting impression, as the consumer will be more willing to rewatch and share an advertisement that feels like regular content. Use your social media presence to spread positive messaging, and maybe use this season to show your customers how you give back as well, said Alex Williams, CFO of Findthisbest.

5. Offer the Best Deals

Tim Schoreer of Learnaboutshoes said, in the holidays, while people are willing to spend much more, they also require the best offers. When every single brand is offering deals, bundles and discounts, you do not want to be the one with the worst offers. Many customers are willing to pay a higher price as long as they feel that they are saving more on the products’ original selling price.

Focus on what kind of offers your customer is looking for, what products they like to buy together, and what price they are willing to pay. Nobody likes to buy a Christmas bundle and find themselves uninterested in or unable to use half the products. Especially if you are a makeup or skincare brand, make bundles that cater to specific skin tones and types. 

6. Advent Calendars

Neal Topf of Callzilla talked about Advent Calendars which are a fun feature of the holiday season, and have been growing in popularity in the last few years. There is so much that can be done with them, and you can have an advent calendar of just about any product.

The main reason that they are such effective marketing tools is because they allow your customers to try out a whole range of your products. The hardest thing for many marketers can be retaining customers who have been willing to buy from them in the holiday season throughout the rest of the year. An advent calendar can help you do this, because when your consumer is buying so many different products from you, they are sure to find something that sticks.

You are also able to engage a segment of the consumers that would not normally be part of your demographic. Harrods, for instance, launches an annual Advent Calendar that has been a sell-out success for years. It offers products worth $1334 for just $292. It allows Harrods to engage a much larger audience. As an added bonus, since this product is so separate from anything else Harrods offers, it allows them to retain their status as a luxury retailer while offering this deal.

Also Read: Top 4 Digital Marketing Tips for Your ecommerce Store