Christmas Marketing Ideas

Unless you don’t watch TV you’ve probably noticed that the political ads have been traded in for the Christmas ads. Most marketers already have a marketing plan but here are a few things to think through before January.

1. Say Merry Christmas
It’s fine to be politically correct in your personal life, but when it comes to business, you need to use what works. And Christmas works.
Studies have found that retailers who use Christmas prominently in their marketing sell more than those who shy away from it.
Most of your customers celebrate Christmas, religiously or otherwise, and those who don’t probably aren’t going to be all that offended.
2. Cyber Monday is the new Black Friday
Cyber Monday, the Monday following Thanksgiving, is becoming almost as big as Black Friday.
Shoppers scour the web for killer deals, so take Cyber Monday as a serious sales opportunity and give your prospects and customers what they want.
3. Make your website Christmas ready: Double-check your offer, guarantee, shipping and return policy.
Web shopping doesn’t end after Cyber Monday, of course, so it’s critical to have your website ready for the whole season.
Most customers want to clearly see 5 things on your website: Free shipping, plenty of product details, easy return policy, prepaid shipping for returns and multiple product images.
You might also want to let customers know when stock is running low.
4. Don’t make promises you can’t keep!
Last year, Best Buy blew it, big time. They guaranteed that big-ticket electronics ordered on Black Friday would be delivered before Christmas. And then, astonishingly, they failed to deliver.
To make matters worse, they didn’t even admit their mistake until the week before Christmas.
By that time, most of the items were no longer available anywhere, and customers were left without gifts to give, even though they had planned weeks in advance.
The rage from customers was incredible. They had been counting on those gifts, and Best Buy completely let them down.
Consumers and news sites alike compared Best Buy to the Grinch, and declared that Best Buy was ruining Christmas.
It was a huge blow to Best Buy’s credibility, and they’ve been working hard ever since to recover.
Don’t, under any circumstance, let this happen to your business.
5. Make buying easy: Streamline your shopping cart
Streamline your online shopping cart, and make sure it’s as simple and intuitive as possible.
Losing an order or a lead at the shopping cart phase is heartbreaking, because you’ve already done all the hard work.
Don’t lose business to something as silly as this.
6. Mobile phone Christmas shopping
Studies show that more than 50% of adult Americans have smartphones. And they’ll be using them to Christmas shop.
This makes it critical that you optimize your website for mobile viewing and make sure your marketing emails can be easily read on mobile screens.
Mobile and email coupons have been a huge hit, so try using them to boost your sales.
7. ‘Tis the season for QR codes
QR codes can, and should, be used in almost all aspects of your marketing. As I said earlier, over 50% of adults have smartphones and instant access to a QR code reader.
And you aren’t limited to just putting your website in the QR code; you can do much, much more.
Try rewarding customers for scanning the code by giving a Christmas discount or special offer!
8. Make your sales copy as personal as possible
This is the time of year to really connect with your audience on a personal level.
Send your prospects more personalized messages, and be sure to thank your regular customers for their business.
9. Don’t let up, continue advertising all the way through Christmas and beyond
The Christmas shopping season starts on Black Friday and goes all the way through to January. Don’t get burned-out, and don’t let up.
Christmas is not the end of the season. In fact, after Christmas, your marketing should be ramping up, not sliding down.
The first few weeks of January, right after Christmas, are the absolute best time of the year to market. Take advantage of it.

(via Direct Marketing Group)