Every year, it appears the holidays sneak up even quicker than the one before. For marketers, failing to consider the holiday season early on can have a negative effect on end-of-year campaigns. That means you have to start planning and strategizing in advance to ensure they have an optimal impact – because, if you wait too long, you could lose out on game-changing metrics, conversions, and revenue. If you plan accordingly, you’ll have time to stretch your campaign to maximize audience exposure with strategies like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and you’ll be able to target customers who have already purchase in the past.
To help you get your 2020 holiday marketing strategies underway, Zero Gravity Marketing (ZGM) has a few considerations, tips, and tricks you can implement into your marketing plan before the festivities begin.
Consider an Omnichannel Approach
Omnichannel marketing refers to sales approaches that utilize multiple platforms to ensure customers enjoy an integrated shopping experience. The intent is to create a seamless buyer’s journey, whether they’re shopping online or at brick-and-mortar locations, on desktops or mobile, or via your website or social media platforms.
For example, when a beauty client of ours came to us seeking a full-funnel, paid media holiday strategy, we went all-in with an omnichannel approach to fill the funnel early and hard. We added YouTube, Facebook, IG TV, Programmatic, and Outbrain. This multichannel sales approach has allowed us to fill the funnel now to keep it healthy and well-fed as the holiday season gets closer. We set this client up to ensure fruitful lead generation and are confident their customers will have seamless and straightforward shopping experiences.
Plan Your Promos Now
Black Friday and Cyber Monday come around every year, but how do you plan for them properly? This season, most people will be shopping online rather than in-person and looking for even bigger deals than usual. That means there’s no better time than now to decide which days you’ll offer Black Friday sales, as it’s seldom to have a one-day promotion. It helps to consider how much you’re planning to discount your items and what stipulations might revolve around the various savings you’re willing to offer your customers.
The same beauty client we recently referenced had us create promos for their brand that made the most sense for their audience. Using data-driven results, we learned from this last campaign that:
- Gift sets and best sellers had the highest conversion rates.
- Offering shopping assistance that speaks to who people are shopping for is crucial in converting visitors into paying customers.
- Direct, Cost-Per-Click (CPC), and organic traffic were top performers on the highest revenue days.
- This promotion ran from November 19th through the 27th, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday ranking as the most successful campaign days.
Get Creative with Your November Sales
When November rolls around, buyers are ready to get into the gift-giving spirit. They’re looking forward to brightly colored ads and impressive sales that’ll entice them to follow your brand and learn more about you. Late October to early November is a great time to start offering promo codes so you can see which platforms are working best, what content attracts the most eyes, and which products come off as the most appealing to your audience.
Think About Altering A Few of Your Current Strategies
What if you offered free shipping during November and December? Have you considered offering BOGO promos with some of your best-selling items? Can you offer gifts with purchases? These strategies, and many others, will help bring attention to your brand during the gift-buying season. You don’t have to keep these strategies in place all year long, but they can help you boost your revenue during the holidays.
Remember Shipping Delays
With COVID-19 (Coronavirus) still present, there will likely be shipping delays during the upcoming holiday season. Based on the increase in parcels due to surges in digital orders and social distancing measures, the postal system and distribution centers will likely have slower delivery times. It’s best to use this information to your advantage and encourage your customers to order your products early so they’ll have them at their doorstep on time.
This year, you should plan at least a few days, if not a week or two, ahead. Priority Mail Express is known to make it to its destinations on time if shipped by December 23rd, but that will likely be an obstacle this year. As for FedEx, SmartPost Services usually cut off around December 9th. Have those packages ready and shipped by either the end of November or the first week of December to ensure happy customers. Also, be sure to implement consistent cross-channel messages to remind customers of approaching deadlines.
Incorporate Gift Cards
Gift cards may have gotten a bad rap over the years because they often seem impersonal, but this year they will be everyone’s first gift of choice. With people staying out of retail establishments and avoiding long lines or confined spaces, this is your year to take advantage of this easy option. If you don’t already have gift card capabilities in place at your company, get something set up now so you’re ready for the holiday season. This includes digital gift cards, an easy add-on that allows your customers to avoid in-store purchases.
Get Going Online
It is estimated that 30% of global retail sales will be made through digital channels this upcoming holiday season, so it is crucial to plan in advance to ensure your automations are finalized by the end of October. Preemptively announce that deliveries may be taking longer due to Coronavirus and plan your incentives now so you can start advertising your promos as soon as possible. A few options you may want to consider implementing into your strategy include:
- Free express shipping and delivery
- Curbside pickup
- Exclusive discounts
- Free gift wrapping
- Add-a-bow options
- “Send as a gift” options, which can include notes and gift receipts
Zero Gravity Marketing Can Help You This Holiday Season
The ZGM team is here to help you get your 2020 holiday marketing strategies lined up and ready to go. We’re standing by to ensure you promote the best and brightest campaign your company has ever done. All you need to do is reach out to us today!
