I’ve already started to see Christmas decorations popping up in stores, so the holidays are coming – quickly! If you haven’t given any thought to your holiday marketing, now is the time.
Here are eight seasonal marketing holidays to keep in mind, and potentially build promotions around.
1. Black Friday
We know consumers spend a lot of money Black Friday through Cyber Monday. Many people buy presents as well as gifts for themselves.
If you want to get in on the action and offer a sale, make sure you plan ahead so you can balance your family time with business. Even if you are only selling online, you need to make sure someone is keeping an eye on the website and that everything is running smoothly. It would be terrible if there was a glitch on Saturday that you didn’t find out about until Monday.
2. Small Business Saturday
While it can get lost in the crush of Black Friday sales, Small Business Saturday often features sidewalk sales and other marketing activities to help consumers support small businesses. American Express will even support you with marketing materials.
3. Giving Tuesday
Specifically for non-profit organizations, Giving Tuesday leverages social media to kick off holiday giving. Jake Lloyd gave us some great tips for managing Giving Tuesday.
4. Holiday Specials
Beyond Black Friday, the holidays are great time for sales – whether you are retailer or a service provider. Planning your sales strategy sooner, rather than later, can help ensure you get all your graphics ready and have plenty of time to market the sale.
5. Gift cards
While gift cards are a no-brainer for retailers, many service providers forget about them. While your services may not be traditional gifts, if you work with small business owners and entrepreneurs, they might benefit from gift cards to help pay for your services.
6. Gifts & Gratitude
Remember the spirit of the holidays and take time to give gratitude to your customers, and the people that helped you throughout the year. Maybe that’s a handwritten note, or perhaps you’ll be sending gifts to your top clients. Lori Saitz has some tips to help you navigate holiday giving.
7. Season’s Greetings
Though you may only give gifts to a handful of clients, you’ll probably want to send warm wishes to all your clients. Figure out what holidays you want to acknowledge (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s) and if you’ll be sending emails or printing cards.
8. Holiday Hours
Planning extended hours? Shutting down for a few days?
Whatever your schedule, make sure your customers are aware.
Tip: if you have a Google My Business profile, make sure to update your hours there too!
Know what you want to do for the holidays, but needs some help getting it done? We’re only a phone call away!