A Marketing Campaign is not just for Christmas
It's September and you know what that means; time to start thinking about your Christmas marketing campaigns.
There are two main times of year when UK Business PLC generally grinds to a halt and these are the summer holiday months (mid July to end of August) and then from late November to the start of January.
Whilst the summer period presents very little opportunity to implement successful campaigns the Christmas period should be the business jackpot. This does not necessarily have to relate only to business to consumer (B2C) companies, but the season of good will also applies to business to business organisations (B2B).
Those of you who keep really good customer relationship marketing databases (CRM) can use the Christmas period to get in touch with customers and clients you maybe have not spoken to in a long time.
A way of saying hello but standing out from the crowds is to get some bespoke Christmas cards made that are unique to your business. Getting these done is simple enough and not half as expensive as you think. Have a word with Jilly to hear about our great offers that involve bespoke designs and printing.
Christmas cards are only the tip of the marketing iceberg though.
If you are a consumer retail or a business to business company you need to have your sales and marketing plan ready and waiting to launch. Things to consider include;
Are you planning to run any promotions?
Have you got all your Christmas decorations ready?
Have you got sufficient stock/resources?
Have you booked your ad space - the papers will be busy at
Christmas as well
If you are running a direct mail or telemarketing campaign have you
chosen the company to take this forward?
Do you have sufficient staff to cope with Christmas demand?
One problem that retailers may face is that the Christmas period is also the time when everyone else is trying to shout about their services and products so you have to work extra hard to be noticed.
This could involve things such as dressing up in costumes and flyering your high street, through to a good publicity stunt or gimmick that can grab the attention of your local or trade media.
If your retail premises are large enough you could have a Santa's grotto or a Christmas evening to give away free mulled wine and mince pies. If you are going to do things outside the front of your premises be sure to check with your local authority that you don't need any special permissions. Don't go too crazy though as entertainers like fire eaters and chain-saw jugglers are often not allowed outside retail premises by councils...for some reason!
When it comes to business to business companies, Christmas does present opportunities. Your target audience will be more open to catching up socially at either an event or for an impromptu Christmas drink so you can pitch your ideas to them.
At Christmas time you can more easily get away with sending some form of corporate gift that could help influence and would not be seen as being so out of place as doing it during the rest of the year. Corporate gifts still go on and can be a good influencer, especially if they are quirky. We are not talking helicopters or a jaguar car here, just something small and simple that keeps you in their mind.
B2B are just as able to carry out some form of publicity stunt in their offices to attract the attention of the press. Why not have a brainstorm with your team to think of something you can do and then plan how it can be carried out. Don’t forget, we at 10 Yetis are only a phone call away to help you come up with and implement ideas.
Corporate companies can also have a go at flyering, maybe going to your closest train station at peak commuter times over the Xmas period and handing out mince pies with a leaflet or goody bags etc with your information inside. You can even hit the high street with goody bags, maybe aimed at kids, but with a message to the parents in the bag in the form of a flyer.
Christmas is also a time where people take time to reflect and plan for the future and this also applies to the business world as well. In the last two years our busiest period has consistently been early January. To increase your chances why not send information about offers and deals on your services in mid to late December, but not over the actual Xmas period, obviously.
All in all, Christmas represents a challenging time, not only at home but for businesses as well. As with everything in life, preparation is the key and you should already not only be thinking about how you can generate more income over this period but also making sure you and your team are ready.
As you would expect, we give assistance with loads of these areas, just get in touch with Jilly or Andy for a free, no obligation consultation to find out how we can help you.