Holidays are a great time for businesses to tap into seasonal spending spikes. Christmas, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, 4th of July, Easter, etc…are all great times to reap the benefits off of holiday spending sprees. Before you can reap those benefits, you need to have a plan in place as to how you are going to attract these buyers. Here are some things to think about when planning your holiday marketing strategy.

Quick Tips for holiday marketing:

Start early: Start planning 1-2 months away. You want to make sure that you have everything prepared, so that you are not rushing to do something last minute.

• Start early: Start planning 1-2 months away. You want to make sure that you have everything prepared, so that you are not rushing to do something last minute.
• Promotion Schedule: Have a schedule of when you will be hosting certain promotions.
• Relate your products and/or services to that holiday: If you can customize your products/services they will be more likely to buy.
• Holiday message: Tailor your offer/promotion messaging to incorporate a holiday phase or slogan.
• Pre-packaged, bundled, or theme-based: By already packaging products together you do the work for the buyer.
• Promote gift cards: Gift cards are always great gifts and an easy way to make a sale.
• Time sensitive offers: Make your offer expire before the holiday to create a urgency to buy.
• Make your website festive: Use holiday specific images, photos, icons, buttons, etc to make your website inviting
• Holiday event: If you have a local store, host a holiday event. Give a special discount for a specific date and time.
• Freebies: Everyone loves to get something for free. Have a chance to win sweepstakes or throw something in for free if they spend a certain amount.
• E-Mail marketing: Create a holiday reminder email to all of your current customers reminding them about the holiday. Add some recommended products to the email.
• PPC: Send traffic to targeted landing pages with the use of pay-per-click advertising. Use a consistent offer in your messaging.

Don’t Forget

• Know your goals and targets
• Know your products and which to promote
• Make sure you have enough inventory
• Have tracking set up to monitor your campaigns
• Understand which offers are more effective
• Plan your pricing strategies against competitors