Fall is officially here and the holidays are right around the corner! Consumers typically spend more during this time of year and as a business owner it’s time to prep for the season that lies ahead. Have you started thinking about upcoming sales and promotions you might run for the holidays? You’ll need to plan ahead for gift guides, digital content, doorbusters, holiday services and products.
We’re currently working on our Q4 planning, so here are a few tips we’d like to share with you so that you can start preparing now, too!
Which Holidays Will You Focus On?
There are a group of holidays that gather around the last two months of the year. It goes without saying, there is a lot ahead to plan for! This doesn’t necessarily mean it makes sense for your business to run promotions or sales for every single holiday. So the first thing you want to do is determine which holidays are going to be most relevant for your business.
Will you have sales for the big shopping days like Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday? Or will you just focus on promotions for gift-giving holidays like Christmas? Now is the time to start planning!
Here is the 2019 Holiday calendar with dates you may need to plan for:
11/28: Thanksgiving
11/29: Black Friday
11/30: Small Business Saturday
12/2: Cyber Monday
12/3: Giving Tuesday
12/9: Green Monday
12/14: Free Shipping Day
12/22: Start of Hanukkah
12/24: Christmas Eve
12/25: Christmas Day
12/26: Start of Kwanza
12/31: New Year’s Eve
1/1/20: New Year’s Day
Prepare for Competition
With so many other holiday sales and specials, getting your customers foot in the door is the number one obstacle. Preparing your email marketing campaigns ahead will not only help you with that process but will also help you stand out from your competitors. Be sure to clearly communicate the benefits of shopping your brand over others. Have something to offer? Think out of the box! Remind your customers why they have shopped with your previously and lure them back with enticing discount codes and upcoming holiday promotions. Multiple touches are impactful and will help you land on the top of their shopping list.
What Campaigns Will you Run?
In order for a campaign to be effective and to receive successful exposure you’ll need to plan your marketing in advance. This is a time to take note of what past holiday campaigns performed well and maybe the ones that didn’t perform so well. Using a successful holiday campaign that you have used in the past will help to make your holiday marketing easy. If a campaign exceeded your expectations to help generate record sales, why not run it again? Work smarter, not harder! In addition, waiting until the last minute could result in costing you more money. Provide yourself enough time for data collection, A/B testing, and time to review to be sure you’re running your most effective advertising holiday campaigns during the busiest times. Planning ahead will help you stay on task during the holiday hustle and bustle.
Prepare to Act Quickly
If you are a retailer than you know there is no busier time than during the holidays. It’s the time of year your elves need to have all hands on deck! You must be able to react quickly when things such as shipping, customer service, and operations don’t go as planned. The last thing you need to worry about is your digital and content preparations. Planning and scheduling your holiday marketing content ahead will help during these crucial periods.
Don’t wait until the final hours to kickstart your big holiday promotions. If you are feeling overwhelmed and looking for some assistance in planning your holiday marketing, give us a call at (888) 632-4499 or click here to fill out our free consultation form!
