How to reap the benefits of the most profitable time of the year? That’s the question many marketers ask themselves as the holiday season looms in. As the Christmas gift hunt continues well beyond Thanksgiving, there’s still a lot you can do before the year comes to an end.
But the problem is that while short-term spikes in sales may draw a smile on your face, what happens when Christmas is over? If you want to continue maintaining stable revenue throughout the following year, you need an audience to rely on. Lucky for you, the holiday season is crucial for audience building — so why not take advantage of that?
With a lot of impulsive shopping around, it’s the perfect opportunity to catch consumer attention and forge new connections. While you probably already have your Christmas shopping strategy in place, it’s crucial to remember that it’s not just about the messaging — it’s also about how you deliver it.
Read on to find out how to maximize the impact of your Christmas shopping strategy while investing in the future by growing your owned audience at the same time.
Promote with Urgency
Urgency is one of the cornerstones of holiday marketing; by placing it in the minds of customers to create the fear of missing out (FOMO), marketers can leverage limited-time sales and showcase catchy countdowns. Just a simple message informing that a sale is coming up in the next 30 minutes makes consumers feel like they can’t really afford to miss out on it.
Such a push can also work wonders to reduce cart abandonment, also known as the e-commerce epidemics. December is generally the month with the highest checkout abandonment rate and by adding a strong, limited incentive, you can easily improve your conversion rate. Just a simple targeted email or push notification motivates consumers to come back and complete the purchase.
During the Christmas shopping season, every minute counts. Consumers are well aware that if they snooze, they lose. And there’s no easier way to stay up to date with the latest deal than by keeping an eye on the brand messaging. These weeks are therefore the best opportunity to encourage visitors to subscribe and become a part of your marketing list. Your audience will then receive the latest offers directly, while you ensure that you can engage with it well beyond Christmas.
Offer Exclusivity
Imagine you are looking to buy a gift for a loved one — and suddenly you see that their favorite artist just released a limited-edition merchandise collection. Or perhaps you found a store that sells that camera they had wanted for so long for the lowest price you’ve seen anywhere else. These are some strong incentives, all built around the sense of exclusivity.
Exclusivity is another powerful customer magnet. The right push notification or announcement can help you position the scarcity and uniqueness just in the right way. Whether you promote a product or a service, such as a discount, free shipping, or early access to a sale, make sure to make it truly exclusive and unique to your brand. If you say that you have the best price for a product on the Internet, then so be it. But don’t play with empty promises.
By nudging your audience to subscribe to get access to exclusive offers, you can build a valuable marketing bridge for the future. Whether it’s gift guides, new product alerts, or Christmas giveaways, you can communicate users these offers with just simple permission. And once they join your database, you can send them a welcome message with a coupon code, so that the instant gratification kicks the relationship off just in the right way.
Be Diligent
According to the Facebook Holiday data, 70% of consumers say that technology has made it easy for them to go elsewhere if they aren’t happy — so remember, holiday marketing is not just about encouraging consumers, it’s also about showing you have the capabilities to deliver premium customer experience. Christmas can be stressful; making it as easy as possible for consumers is the recipe for success.
It’s common for companies to get particularly creative and playful with their brand messaging, but it’s important not to lose track of the overall brand voice and the promises you’re making. Whether it’s delivery times, deal percentage, or wrapping, make sure to handle everything carefully, even if it takes extra attention to your supply chain or website optimization.
How can this help you build your owned audience? Showing great customer service is the foundation of retention. You can score extra points by adding transparency to your processes, for example by setting up an order tracking system or notifications that alert consumers whenever the product they were looking at is restocked.
While you may have spent months racking your brain to come up with the best Christmas marketing strategy, by trying to cultivate a direct brand-customer relationship, you can build up your database and make sure that you maintain great results even when those last Christmas lights are taken down.
