4 Ways to Improve Holiday Marketing Results

Forget Easter. Forget the 4th of July. Forget Halloween. And yes, forget Thanksgiving, too.

This upcoming holiday season, when millions of people across the country will be celebrating Christmas, is what really counts for many businesses, both big and small. People will be flocking to the malls, lining up for slashed prices, and trying to beat other shoppers to online sales in order to give their friends and loved ones exactly what they want for the holiday.

Even big, popular businesses know that they can’t simply sit back during the holiday and enjoy the benefits of gift-giving to improve their bottom line. Instead, they understand that marketing during the holiday is essential. And, of course, the same goes for small and medium-sized businesses as well. To give you a bit of a head start, here are 4 techniques that will help you improve your holiday marketing results:

Technique #1: Use the Holiday to Your Advantage

Although jumping on a bandwagon isn’t always advisable, when it comes to selling your products or services during the holiday season, it’s definitely something you should take advantage of. These days, special offers and promotions are just as much of the holiday as your grandmother’s cherry pie. Create a holiday promotion that’s fun and festive, one that takes advantage of the holiday without being too crass about it. While huge discounts are all the rage, offering incentives like free shipping, complimentary gift wrapping, or bundled gift sets can help improve your foot or online traffic.

Technique #2: Focus on Mobile Sales

If you’ve been following our blog for a while, you might be tired of hearing how important it is to adapt your business to the mobile market. Why do we talk about it so much? Because it really is that important. Each year, we’re seeing more and more people using their smartphones and tablets to research products and services they may be interested in. And each holiday season, these same users are making holiday purchases through their mobile devices. This is why you must ensure that your advertisements will look just as good on a mobile phone as they do on a desktop computer.

Technique #3: Pay Attention to Reviews

Not so long ago, the only way you could truly know which products were of quality was to ask friends and family who had purchased them. These days, it’s much easier. Between reviews on popular websites like Amazon and those found on Yelp and similar review sites, you don’t have to look very far to find opinions on items that you want to purchase or services you want to use. This interaction seems to increase during the holiday season, which means you should pay special attention to what is being said about what your company is offering. Just keep in mind that this may take a little extra effort, since multiple venues — like Yelp, Facebook, Twitter, etc. — now exist and must not be ignored.

Technique #4: Don’t Forget Your E-mail List

A lot of emphasis is placed on the use of social media and similar online marketing tools these days. And for good reason — the online tools that are currently available to businesses can help promote your products or services like never before. That being said, don’t forget about your e-mail contact list. Some companies seem to think that e-mail has become somewhat archaic when it comes to advertising, in part because social media is more interactive. The truth, however, is much different — e-mail is still a strong source for making contact and sales with new and existing customers.

The Christmas season is an exciting time for friends and loved ones, but it can also be an exciting time for your business. By focusing on the above techniques, and maybe even some of your creation, you can attract new customers and bring old ones back.