It’s never too early to start thinking about how to prepare your company for the holiday season.
Is that the case?
Everyone tends to say ‘Wow, it’s that late in the year already?!’ when the days start to become shorter and sweater weather becomes more genuine. This is also the ideal moment to start thinking about your Christmas marketing campaign.
Why?
Because e-commerce owners can take advantage of a wide choice of dates in the last three months of the year. Furthermore, according to a study conducted by RCS UK, 38% of shoppers begin their holiday shopping in October.
So, if you want your product to be seen by the early birds, you’ll need to have your marketing plan done and ready by the end of September!
1. Define Your Objectives And Make A Plan To Achieve Them
Goals are what propel us forward; they keep us learning, growing, and improving. Your brand will not see higher sales throughout the holiday season if you don’t set clear goals. Your e-commerce marketing strategies will be ineffective.
Set S.M.A.R.T. objectives.
The term S.M.A.R.T. stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. An illustration of how the notion works are as follows:
2. Get The Party Started On Halloween
The holiday shopping floodgates appear to open right after Halloween.
Even those of us who do not live in the United States are aware of the impact Halloween has. Many British, European, and Australian businesses are increasingly taking advantage of the break. Bringing the Halloween frenzy into the holiday season is a fantastic Christmas marketing strategy.
Encourage customers who purchased from you during Halloween to return for their Christmas shopping. Make use of the Halloween flyer to draw attention to any upcoming events in the run-up to Christmas. And for that, you don’t have to scratch your head, you can easily design a Halloween flyer template by using an online graphic design tool.
If you use Halloween symbolism seven days after the occasion has passed, you’ll have the option to stand apart from your rivals who have continued on to Christmas-themed advancements!
3. Make Your Packaging Unique
We all understand the importance of custom packaging for your business.
The only item that reaches 100% of your customers is your packaging, which is the first step in creating a memorable unpacking experience. Unique Christmas packaging for your items over the holidays adds a touch of luxury and class and can help create a sense of ‘exclusivity around your product if combined with a limited-edition product.
Packaging with a Christmas motif can also be useful for your customers. Let the creativity roll on, hire a graphic designer, or create oneself using a graphic design app from the play store.
A holiday-themed mailer box or mailing bag can completely eliminate the need for gift wrapping!
4. Make Use Of Push Notifications In Your Browser
Installing push alerts on your website during the holidays is a terrific idea.
Push notifications provide you with a direct line of communication with your subscribers, allowing you to tell them anything you want. A flash sale, store hours, and the final call for Christmas purchases.
Just keep in mind that you don’t want to overwhelm and annoy your subscribers with too much information, so use them sparingly.
5. Create A Digital Library
Nowadays, not many of us sit and go through printed inventories prior to going Christmas shopping. A digital catalogue, on the other hand, is an excellent opportunity to re-engage old customers.
Stunning images, well-crafted pictures, and high-quality design are excellent methods to showcase all of your products in the same manner as a physical catalogue does, but without the printing!
Apart from product catalogs, a free giveaway voucher for any event may also encourage more sales. Create an event flyer to share it among the targeted audiences through various digital platforms.
Moore & Giles uses an interactive catalogue to show showcase their high-quality product to customers who aren’t sure exactly what they want, as shown below.
Make an interactive catalogue similar to the one shown above, with each product image linking to the appropriate product page.
This will allow you to keep track of how your users navigate your website. Your interactive Holiday catalogue can be promoted in the same way you would any other piece of content: on social media, in a blog, and as a link in your main website navigation menu!
6. Set A Deadline For Last-minute Purchases
With so many postage deadlines this time of year, efficiency is key in the run-up to Christmas. If they haven’t purchased from you by December 20th, your slower buyers will feel the pinch.
If you’re based in Los Angeles, your package will reach a customer in San Francisco in no time. However, if you have a consumer in Bucharest, Romania, and you’re shipping to them from Los Angeles, it will take longer.
It’s critical to make the cutoff dates for delivery in specific locations clear for this purpose.
7. Make Shipping Free
Buyers nowadays anticipate free shipping.
Free delivery, whether it’s a modest bottle of beard oil or a kitchen bench, is an incentive that many people anticipate in 2019, particularly during the holiday season. However, you may need to change your pricing to account for postage costs.
But don’t be concerned. When your customer sees the phrase “free worldwide shipping,” they generally disregard the tiny price rise.
You’ll get a lot of last-minute buyers in the week before Christmas if you have a fantastic Holiday promotion.
As a result, it’s critical that you begin offering free expedited shipping as soon as feasible.
Why?
Last-minute shoppers are eager to purchase from you since they know they will receive the product before the big day.