The festive season is undoubtedly the best time of the year. The colors are in the air and so are a million (and big billion) reasons to celebrate. With the festive season being the best time for consumers to get their wish lists ready, brands too find many advantageous turns and chances to enhance visibility and sales.
The festive season also sees a surge in gift-giving, to oneself and to near and dear. It is at these times that brands can truly unleash their potential and surge sales using a vibrant mix of channels to create awareness, drive consideration and get the sales register ringing.
Here is a quick guide to help brands and retailers better plan their campaigns around the festive season and ace the sale game like never before.
1. START PLANNING EARLY
October and the months that follow are probably the best months for brands globally. With the festive and holiday season ringing in close, brands need to plan ahead to keep their festive sale game strong.
Google found that, on average, ‘17% of consumers in surveyed markets had already started their holiday shopping, while more than a third – 36%, say they already had ideas for gifts they are going to buy in mind.’
Keeping this in mind, it is critical to plan ahead and get your audience data, product, and feed lineup in place. In addition to simply generating a marketing plan, it is important to plan and get all the data points well ahead of time to amplify your efforts.
2. TRACK YOUR CUSTOMER’S JOURNEY
Another key data point that can help you get your festive sale efforts in place is to analyze customer journeys – the channels they use, the patterns they follow, and the factors that determine their buying decisions.
It is also important not to forget ‘mobile-first’ shoppers, with 68% of markets anticipating an increase in app use in the next 2-3 years.
Another critical data point that one can use while planning is the fact that 60% of people say they more than often get prompted or enticed to make a purchase even when they weren’t actively shopping. Impulse buying during the festive season is at an all-time high, so using data points to tap into this large group of shoppers will actually prove beneficial.
3. CREATE A SEASONED SHOPPING EXPERIENCE
Creating a seasoned shopping experience means turning potential shoppers to shoppers with reasons and tools. This may include new sales and other promotions in your product feeds around the festive season and even in phases.
Creating phases will generate anticipation and urgency among shoppers to bag deals at the earliest.
Offering free shipping, estimated delivery time, and must-have deals through market basket analysis is a great way to transform potential shoppers into festive season customers.
4. AMPLIFY, AMPLIFY & AMPLIFY
Consumers today value the power to be able to shop across multiple channels in a seamless fashion. Though value uniqueness and individuality are highly appreciated, marketers need to constantly amplify what makes their brand unique whilst maintaining a holistic view of performance metrics.
Consumers today also expect a seamless experience that is hyper-personalized to their needs and desires.
CHANNELS TO USE
For awareness – display ads, social media ads, and video ads work fairly well
For action – remarketing ads, and custom social media ads can do the trick
Need last-minute help with your festive marketing strategy? Get in touch with us!