For all the sales potential that the holiday season holds, it’s also just as easy to get lost in the barrage of special sales events and advertising that consumers are inundated with every year. In order to stand out, you must become more than another voice in the crowd, and instead be willing to sing a solo or two. With these promotional tips, you’ll be able to take full advantage of the most wonderful time of the year.
Be Part of the Story
Sales are a dime-a-dozen, especially during the holiday season. You’ve got to learn to get past this word “sale,” and learn to grab people’s attention using other methods. A great way to draw people in is to enter into their holiday story by having them connect your product with a special holiday memory. Whether you’re selling a car and have people recollect their favorite holiday trip, or a sandwich and have people recollect their favorite holiday meal, your customer’s connections to the past can provide valuable insight and motivation for purchasing in the present.
Be Part of the Season
Whether they live it out or not, all your customers really want this year is a good, old-fashioned family Christmas. People really do get burned out trying to navigate all the sales taking place this time of year, often resulting in stress and less happiness leading up to the big day. So, sit back and participate in some un-marketing, where you simply highlight a local holiday event, or give a tip on relieving stress during the holidays. Then, when it does come time to promote a sale of your own, you will have much more credibility in your customers’ eyes, leading to much better results in the end.
Be Part of the Thrill
Though searching for a great deal can cause stress, actually finding a good deal is very exciting for many people. Stir up your own customers’ excitement by giving them something to pursue. Be very, very careful about this, however. Going back to the previous point, you don’t want people to experience extra stress as a result of searching for your sales, so use concrete details that still leave people wanting more.
For example, you could say, “on December 5th at 12:30 PM, EST, we’ll be revealing a major savings opportunity, exclusively for those who follow us on Twitter.” with this method, you give your customers something to anticipate, while also ensuring you don’t add extra stress to their holidays by letting them know exactly when they can anticipate it. You may think this will cause people to check out until that time arrives, but showing that you respect your customers’ time is actually a great way to engage them on a more regular basis.
Be Part of the Magic
The holiday season is often touted as being a “magical” time of year. However, the reality for most adults is anything but magical. Instead, as mentioned, it’s often stressful, possibly depressing, and totally exhausting. Part of the problem lies in the fact that the holiday season is magical… For children. The memories we carry with us from our childhood are projected onto our expectations for our current experiences, leading to disappointment and frustration.
If you can help create even a little magic and fun in your adult customers’ lives this season, you will have a dedicated audience that is receptive to whatever messages you distribute. This might mean doing a Facebook Live interview with Santa, and having him ask people what they want for Christmas by name as they comment. This might mean offering a free, surprise gift with every purchase. Whatever it looks like for your business, creating magic, while potentially challenging, can have enormous reach, and if done well, can even go viral, creating free marketing.
Be Part of the Dazzle
The holiday season is a feast for the senses. One of the most regularly-fulfilled senses is the sense of sight. With mesmerizing lights, beautiful decorations, and colorful gift wrap filling every corner, people come to expect bold and bright holiday expressions everywhere they go. This includes on their Facebook and Twitter feeds. As Sober Link has shown, Twitter is a great advertising tool for new products.
Take extra care in creating dazzling visual advertisements that are a delight to behold. This is not the time of year to be conservative in your design choices, but to create beautiful, memorable, and festive announcements with a lot of pizzazz and a clear call-to-action. Don’t be easily tuned-out by deploying visuals that are dated, boring, or plain in any way.
The Most Wonderful Time
Even though your competition is strong, with the right tools and strategies, the holidays really can be the most wonderful time of the year for your business. Engage your customers early, respect their time with concrete offers, and engage them with magic and dazzle, and you’ll be well on your way to raising up a customer base that sticks with you, long after the holidays are over. It’s enough to make even the grinchiest Grinch all kinds of jolly.