Marketing your Business Over the Holidays
With the holidays fast approaching it is a good idea to spend a little time figuring out how to best market your business over the holiday period. There are many businesses that shut down for this time, even if only for a couple of days, but this does not mean that your business will grind to a halt.
The business world now runs 24/7. There is no excuse for not being able to make a sale in the middle of the night, even if your sales staff are all at home fast asleep! This is why companies need to pay as much attention to their online business during the holidays as they do to every other aspect of their business.
Online options
Online ads are a great way to keep your business top of mind with your customers as well as potential customers. These are particularly important if your company is closed over the holidays but is planning to reopen with a sale or special offers. Research has shown that even on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day people still go online to do a little bargain-hunting. Make sure that they know how and when to place an order with you – if you have an online store that operates no matter what time of day or night then you will not lose out on potential business.
Social media is ideal for advertising your company. The vast number of people using social media these days means that literally millions of people could see an ad that you place on Facebook or Twitter. Consider what they might be looking for at this time. Remember that at Christmas people have just been given plenty of gifts so they may not be looking for personal items but maybe useful items for around the home. Target your sales and offers so that they meet what people are looking for.
Email marketing
You might think that most people will not be checking their email during the holidays but research has shown that marketing emails from businesses are actually more likely to be opened at this time than at other times of the year. There are many reasons for this. Many large brands, for example, have been working on their marketing strategies and are ensuring that their emails can be opened easily on a smartphone – it is so much easier to pick up a message on a smartphone than to switch on a computer or laptop to check them. Some people may not bother with their computers during the holidays but many will still check emails by phone so make sure your messages are responsive or are able to adapt depending on the device being used.
Keep the email simple and to the point – offer a discount, a coupon or give people a taste of what is going to be in the sale. This ensures that they will remember you whether they choose to place an order online or visit your store.
Holiday marketing has so much potential for a retailer that ignoring it means that you are almost handing the business to a competitor – help your own business, not theirs! I hope you found this post helpful! If you have any questions, please email me, Amy, at amy@socialfocus.com.