Yes, we’re fully aware that it’s only September but in the fast-paced world of marketing we’ve been dropping the C-bomb for a couple of months now!
If you’ve not already started planning your festive marketing, it’s time to push the pedal to the floor and give it some welly – or risk your campaign being as flat as your auntie’s Yorkshire Puddings on Boxing Day.
Christmas is the perfect time of year to really think outside the box. The more creative you are, the more you will stand out from your competitors.
Plan Ahead
Don’t save your Christmas promotions for a December launch. Think of ways that you can hook into Halloween at the end of October, and Guy Fawkes Night on 5th November. In marketing terms, these are both legitimate prequels to the main event when the fella in the big red suit makes his presence known.
Be Friends With Black Friday
OK, so it started in the USA as their equivalent to our Boxing Day sales, but Black Friday has swum its way across the Atlantic and has now become a natural event in the marketing calendar for UK businesses. As well as pushing your Christmas promotions, Black Friday can be a discreet way to offload old stock – everybody loves a bargain, and you’ll be shifting product that’s been in your stockroom for longer than needed.
Did you know that in the UK, 80% of parents get their Christmas shopping done on Black Friday. BOOM!
And if you have an online shop attached to your business, don’t overlook Cyber Monday either.
Create A Gift Guide
Let visitors to your website know that you have the solution to their Christmas gifting problems. Update the home page of your website with an eye-catching gift guide in festive reds, greens, and golds – all with hyperlinks to your online shop so that the ‘looker’ can quickly be converted into a purchaser with the simple click of a mouse.
Gift Cards
Easy to create, and an easy gift solution, offering a gift card, or gift certificate could potentially be a great revenue generator – so why aren’t you doing it? It’s estimated that retailers gain approximately £300 million every year from gift vouchers that go unused (source: This Is Money).
The 12 Days Of Christmas Offers
One of our favourite festive marketing strategies is to have a “12 Days Of Christmas” series of special offers. Usually starting on 13th December and running through to Christmas Eve, one special offer or product offer is released every day on a limited number basis – once they’ve gone, they’ve gone. The combination of an offer and limited availability can be too good to resist!
Throw In A Festive Freebie
This one speaks for itself – but try to think outside the box and make your freebie something that your customers will value. If you have an online shop, offer free shipping on orders in the run up to Christmas – but remember to adjust your item prices accordingly to absorb the shipping fee!
Be Present On Social Media
Having an awesome marketing strategy is great – so make sure you SHOUT about it from the rooftops. Schedule posts to your social media platforms, use branded, eye-catching graphics and ENGAGE with your audience.
Lumpy Mail
Our favourite way to nudge your customers – and one that definitely needs planning ahead. Remind your clients that you’re there by sending them something through the post – and no, we’re not talking about a floppy Christmas card from a Hallmark box! Make sure you include a call to action – something that makes them get in touch with you once they’ve received your envelope of loveliness.
If you need a helping hand with any Christmas marketing ideas, the Golddust Marketing elves would love to hear from you!
Let’s make Rudolph rock this Christmas.