Marketing During the Holidays

Marketing during the holidays is both good and bad. Depending upon what you are selling, it can be easy or frustrating. Many companies believe that during the holidays people are over-extending their budgets, are cranky, and over-shopped. While this may be true, some people have an openness and willingness to try new things. So how can you use the holidays as a time to market? We will explore some options below.

Seasonal
What about your business is seasonal? What would your customers want to purchase during the holidays? Any service or product can be tied to the holidays one way or another. Get a team of people together and think hard about why your products are marketable during the holidays. How about the "gift that keeps on giving" idea? Come up with a referral bonus or extra discount during a particular week if they spend so much money. And little promotion you do will go a long way, especially if the customer thinks they are saving money.

During the holidays try throwing a company party and invite potential clients. This is a golden business opportunity to market during the holidays as you will be discussing your products or services with new clients. A meet and great is a great way to start off with a good impression. You can do a follow-up after the party and use that as a way to start building a relationship with the client. Giving a door prize that promotes your company is also a great way to leave a visual reminder in your potential clients mind.

Marketing during the holidays are a great time to promote time sensitive materials. People respond well to promotions if they know they can only get this deal for 30 days or so. The end of the year is a great time to promote that prices are increasing so buy now and save.

How to Market during the holidays
There are a few ways to go about marketing during the holidays. Many people try sending e-mail promotions, direct mail pieces, phone call marketing, and just plain old advertising. Whatever route you decide, you need to have a good marketing strategy planned out.

If you have looked at past efforts and noticed your sales go down during the holidays, here are a few marketing tips you can use:
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• Try a fresh look to your website. It might look dated. Try sprucing it up with new features and articles.


• - Try some free marketing strategies first. Send out e-mails to current clients about new programs coming up. Word-of-mouth is always great!


• - Keep your budget low by doing a small mailer of targeted marketing. Pick some of your best sellers from the year and offer them a discount or a free item with their purchase.


• - Make sure your customer service department is happy and not getting tired. During the holidays employees tend to tire out and focus on being home. Give them a little incentive to work harder.

Marketing during the holidays should be a fun time for the marketing team. They can come up with new ideas and challenges. Be sure to have clear communication at the company and make your efforts a company-wide challenge. If everyone is on board then unity will spread, making it much more enjoyable for the office. Don't be discouraged if your marketing strategy didn't work this time around. Take your experiences and re-vamp them for the next holiday market. Be ready to change your focus and target groups. Just be sure you have a reasonable budget and expectations. Most importantly, take care of your team! It's a time to celebrate for everyone!