We are now well and truly into the holiday season. The fairy lights, frosty weather and spiced lattes are giving us that Christmassy feeling we all know and love. This can only mean one thing; Christmas is nearly here!
While Christmas is a time for family and friends, it’s also a fantastic time for businesses to have a successful and profitable close to the year. But nobody wants hard deadlines and a stress filled December, so here at Optily we’ve crafted some top marketing tips and tricks to try out this Christmas season.
Let’s wrap up 2020 in a neat little bow and make this festive marketing season one to remember.
#1 Run A Festive Marketing Competition
Everyone knows that Santa Claus is the face of Christmas. I doubt you’ll find one Scrooge out there who doesn’t love him. Well, why not take a leaf out of his book and give out a present, with a festive marketing twist of course.
Running a free giveaway competition is a great way to show some festive spirit but also gain more followers on your social media accounts and create more engagement with and awareness of your product. These competitions are often held on Instagram or Facebook and can be a straightforward way to grab tons of extra exposure for your business, while also spreading some cheer on people’s news feeds.
#2 Marketing Christmas Cards
Sending out Christmas cards can be a wonderful way to keep your business at the forefront of consumers’ minds during the holiday season. These can either be physical cards or an email card. On your card include a unique and festive promotional code to encourage new or recurring customers to buy from your business. By sending a card to a previous customer it can show your appreciation for their custom and keep them loyal to your business.
This can also be a fantastic mood booster for your employees. Why not have a Christmas jumper day and get a big (socially distanced) business family photo to include on the card!
#3 Create a Christmas Vibe
Nothing is more attractive than a fun and friendly business vibe. Seeing an enjoyable corporate culture can be very enticing for customers and for your employees. The Christmas season is a wonderful time to have a little fun and show a festive spirit. Here’s some easy ideas to implement over the month of December:
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Have a Christmas jumper day for your employees
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Bake Christmas buns for your team
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Office Christmas movie watch? Don’t mind if I do.
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Host a virtual festive cocktail making party
Don’t forget to show off all your hard work on social media accounts and tagged with an appropriate seasonal hashtag.
#4 Free Shipping Day
Hosting a company-wide free shipping day will entice customers to buy from your business. This December 14 is National Free Shipping Day in the U.S, why not join them and grab some of the customers too. Free shipping can be a make or break factor for many shoppers and will always make them more likely to purchase.
In a recent webinar by LocalIQ, they showed that only 20% of online shoppers are willing to pay for shipping! That’s many customers that you don’t want to lose.
#5 Extended Returns Period
If you think that your products or services will be bought as a Christmas gift you could consider offering an extended returns period. This could be an extra 30 days where you will still accept returns. This shouldn’t affect the number of returns as your product is still top quality. It will however allow customers the peace of mind that if the gift needs to be returned it will be an effortless process.
#6 Increase Quality & Quantity Of Reviews
Like myself and many others, I read an extensive amount of product reviews before I purchase a product. Qualtrics’ recent survey showed that 93% of online shoppers read the reviews before buying the product or service. Having a stellar reputation will increase your chances of securing that sale this holiday season.
To increase the number of reviews that your business or product has, try reaching out to previous customers to leave a review. You can also send out products to professional product reviewers to help get them coveted 5 stars!
#7 Light Up Your Store
If you are one of the businesses lucky enough to be opening your doors this holiday season, make sure to decorate it accordingly. Having a wonderful Christmas aesthetic cheers up anyone who sees your business and we all want delighted customers.
If however, you have an online store then give that homepage a festive face lift. Include Christmassy graphics and images to boost customer spirits and show a welcoming home to your eCommerce store.
#8 Prepare for 2021
Christmas is one of those times of year that take so long to arrive and then disappear in the blink of an eye. January will loom very quickly once all the Christmas Day leftovers are eaten and you best be prepared.
Outlining any business goals that you have for Q1 of next year now can be a fantastic way of ensuring you’re on-track in the early weeks of 2021. Knowing exactly what you want to accomplish will prepare your business for the new year! Determine now your Q1 2021 business objectives for:
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eCommerce
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Marketing
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Sales
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How you’ll track and measure these objectives
Doing this will ensure a prosperous start to next year!
Wrapping Things Up
December can be a stressful month for business owners and employees alike. Hopefully these quick and simple tips will help make the month more enjoyable and more profitable for your business. Implementing these create and easy festive marketing tactics, will help you connect with your audience and maximize business exposure.
And finally, remember:
About Optily
Optily is the only single-click ad spend optimizer for eCommerce. Our plug-and-play online platform quickly links all of your Google and Facebook ads together and helps you easily determine which campaigns are working. With just one click, you can apply our optimization recommendations–like moving budget from a lower performing Google ad to a better performing one on Instagram.
Optily saves you time and money by instantly optimizing your ad spend.
