Marketing can feel overwhelming, but breaking it down can make it a little easier. Here is a step-by-step marketing guide for your Christmas shoppers this festive season.
- START EARLY.
The lead up to the holidays is vital for creating brand awareness and communicating and engaging with your audience.
| Platform | To Do |
| Social Media | Don’t get caught behind! Plan your social media strategy in October and schedule posts to be uploaded regularly. |
| eDM’s | Use digital marketing EDM’s to connect with past customers.We all love a helpful Christmas gift idea! Send out digital Christmas catalogues and targeted gift guides early |
| Website | You’ll likely receive an increase in traffic so update your website before the rush. Offer free postage – it’s to be expected. How much do we all love ‘free shipping worldwide’ when we’re shopping online? It acts as an incentive and provides value (even if you adjust your prices elsewhere). Just make sure your shoppers know the absolute final time they can purchase for delivery before the big day. |
| Google Business | Make sure you have updated opening times online and ensure other details such as email address, phone numbers etc are accurate and accessible. |
Important note: Adding a Christmas banner to your website and Facebook page is a quick and easy way to capture eyes and show visitors you’ve got a sale or promotion on. However, be sure to remember to maintain the same imagery across all social media and online platforms – uniformity is key!
- UPSELLING OPPORTUNITIES: The buck doesn’t stop once your customer has made their selection. Help them find something for an unexpected cousin, work colleague or a family member’s new partner with upselling touchpoints around the store – and help drive up consumer spend.
- Having impulse items available at the POS may sound like a tired trope but it works. If customers are already at the register, they are in the mood to spend. Simple and strategic positioning is sometimes all you need to help with those sales. “Stocking filler” is a magical phrase.
- We all love a bargain. How about offering one to your high spend customers? A sales discount offered on a spend threshold will be sure to put consumers and sales staff in the festive mood
- Why not indulge your creative side? Help customers visualise gift ideas by bundling complimentary items together and packaging them creatively. The benefit of brick and mortar stores is how much control retailers have on shoppers’ experiences. Use this to your advantage and show ‘em what you got!
- One thing we never take for granted in the jewellery biz is getting to be a part of some truly meaningful moments in peoples’ lives. Let’s make the most of creating these special moments with talented sales staff who can weave emotive stories about your products. Confident sales people with the gift of the gab are invaluable during the holiday season and beyond.
Top tip: GOALS. Plan towards specific and measurable targets to ensure you are making the most of the holiday period. This could be selling more of a particular product, increasing customer spend, upselling items at the registers or increasing your marketing presence on social media.
- DRIVE FOOT TRAFFIC IN STORE: More people = more opportunity.
- Let your customers see, touch, feel and devour your products. This will help you identify their needs and provide focused advice.
- Are you already thinking about returning customers and repeat business? Run different promotional sales each week and watch people come back for more.
- Be a good host and see if Santa wants to visit. With Santa in store and your beautiful holiday decorations up, it’ll be the perfect instagrammable location. Let your audience take plenty of photos, upload and tag them and watch the power of influencer marketing work in your favour.
- GIFT CARDS: For the indecisive, unsure, unable to make a decision, these are a no brainer. Offering electronic versions online straight to your recipient’s email can be marketed as a sustainable and convenient choice. However, be sure to stock physical copies in store, for those looking for a tangible stocking filler.
- ALTRUISM: The benefits of charitable giving are obvious. During the Christmas season and at all times during the year, publicly supporting a charity can boost your brand image, the reputation of your store, build customer loyalty and promote social responsibility – need we say more? Help solidify a positive experience for your customers as well as the broader community.
Altruism in action: donation boxes, rounding up dollar amounts at the register and donating the change, contributing a percentage of sales to the cause, gold coin donations for services such as gift wrapping.
- The 2021 Conscious Consumer report found that over half of Australians surveyed said they would switch to brands that support a charity in the coming year.
- Over a third have actively boycotted a company or brand in the past year due to its poor social responsibility.
- Over one quarter have actively switched brands, because of their support of charity in the past year
(Stefanoff, 2021)
Implementing new marketing strategies during the busiest time of the year might feel overwhelming. But planning ahead will ease the stress of the holiday season and defined goals will help you smash those sales targets. So, take it easy. Start early. And be prepared.
Stefanoff, N. (2021). Australian consumers are more likely to buy from companies that support charities. Retrieved 6 September 2022, from https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2021/11/australian-consumers-are-more-likely-to-buy-from-companies-that-support-charities/
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