The holidays are HERE! Are you ready? Every year it seems as though the holiday season starts earlier and earlier. Retailers and businesses push out enticing deals weeks in advance to lure in consumers making more people eager to get their shopping done sooner rather than later. In fact, as soon as Halloween was over, the majority of businesses went straight into holiday-mode, some even skipped the mentioning of Thanksgiving all together. Who needs turkey decorations anyway, right? This has created an enormous window to capitalize on the biggest spending season of the year and if you haven’t created a holiday marketing strategy yet, you must get the ball rolling now!
The National Retail Federation is estimating that shoppers will spend over $630 billion this year on Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa holiday items. On top of that, their latest release of their Consumer Holiday Spending Survey found that 57% of those celebrating the holidays have already started their shopping earlier this month! While the ‘start‘ of the holiday season used to kick off during the weekend after Thanksgiving, things have certainly changed as more consumers are hitting the stores sooner. If those statistics weren’t enough to get your marketing strategy in gear, than you just might miss out on this time-sensitive push. However, if you want to take advantage of the holiday season while it’s in full swing, check out these marketing suggestions to boost your sales.
Black Friday Specials
Consumers love the thrill and savings of Black Friday because many retailers offer limited-time savings on hot items. These types of promotions create an all-out frenzy and you should offer a special deal that is just as enticing. Get your customers excited about a product or service that’s only available during Black Friday for great attraction. Don’t let November 27th be the only day for deals, however, because many other businesses extend the sales across the weekend and to stay competitive, you should do the same.
Use social media to promote your holiday shopping specials and if you run an e-commerce website, be sure it’s up-to-date with the latest tools to handle promo codes so shoppers can order online. The last thing you want to do is frustrate an online shopper because they can easily leave your website and look elsewhere. Also, don’t forget about participating in Cyber Monday, which essentially is an online Black Friday event, except it occurs on Monday, November 30th.
Printed Promotions
Take to the streets with flyers and printed advertisements to lure in consumers. Consider placing flyers on parked cars (underneath their windshield wipers), hang posters and sales outside your business, and consider passing out handouts to people walking on the street. When creating your printed ads, don’t forget to include your businesses’ vital information – name, address, phone number, website and of course, the special promotion including dates.
Don’t let the holiday shopping season pass you by. There’s so much potential for increased revenue during this time of year. Reach out for last minute help from one of the best marketing agencies in Philadelphia today so you can strategize your holiday marketing plans.
Neff Associates 