’Tis the season – *groan* – for junk mail, needless promotional ads, spammy inboxes, and more!
As consumers, the Holidays are a whirlwind of “too good to be true” offers and “hurry before it’s too late” pitches. With that and the absolute inundation of digital media with political pontification, advertising, and news (loosely used), “The Season of Giving” starts to feel a lot more like shore leave on Anything Goes Island. “Wear your rubbers, it’s getting nasty out there!”
Ho Ho Ho?
As marketing professionals, it’s our duty to not only help our clients promote and sell, but to engage and support. While there’s always going to be carnival barkers and snake oil salesmen, good marketers can make the Holiday season a time not only for buying, but also building, engaging, and growing.
As my gift to you, below are three Holiday marketing tips that will not only make a positive connection with your target audience, but show you still have a little of the Holiday spirit.
Make Fun the Focus: During the Holidays, with the constant din of marketing madness, amp up the opportunity to make doing business with you more fun. Do you send out a simple Christmas (Hanukkah, Kwanza, Boxing Day, et al) cards or do you take the extra step and offer something more, something exciting?
A perfect example is hand delivering gifts in place of the stock card. We wait every year for a certain vendor to come ringing our bell with tins of popcorn and fruits. That simple gesture makes the Holidays better and shows commitment to “more” from the vendor. And to prove the ROI, we’ve “shopped” their services to other prospects, but keep coming back because of their seasonal cheer and added value to our Holiday joy (and growing waistlines).
Offer Peace of Mind: Guess what? The Holidays are as hectic for your customers as they are for you. So why not make doing business with you easier? While we’ve heard of a few businesses offering “December Discounts” as Holiday promotions, that often goes unnoticed.
“Thinking outside the gift box” – so to speak – requires reducing their seasonal burden. One savvy marketing team ran a promotion with their restaurant clients offering a month’s-worth of Uber “Sleigh Rides” for their top customers. The up-front investment was minuscule compared to a PACKED Uber pulling up outside their lobby twice a week. The customers had a ball and created some special Holiday memories around the client’s brand. And the restaurant was standing room only for weeks past the New Year celebrations.
Give to Receive: Again, the Holidays are a time to give. Marketers and sales teams who look at the next few weeks as “The Grab and Grub” days need to reevaluate the reason for the season.
The opportunity to give back is as prevalent as ever. Companies that want to make a difference in their communities (and just maybe improve their brand karma a bit) have endless opportunities to do so. Whether that means taking your team and some important clients for an afternoon of helping those in need, packaging meals for children around the world or simply connecting and promoting opportunities like #GivingTuesday, participating in the Holidays for something more than the bottom line makes the season bright.
With some forethought, creativity, and a whole lot of heart, Holiday marketing can really make your business stand out. More than sales, more than clicks, more than dollars and cents, the Holidays need to make your customers feel better about the world around them.
So, how do YOU plan to market during the Holidays?
The team at SPOKE Communications wishes you the BEST for the Holiday season. We hope you spend it with those you love and create memories that will last eternally.
Until next year…
KEEP COOKING!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef
