Prepare your marketing for the holidays

Now could not be a better time to do your research and figure out what your customers are looking for this holiday season.  If you want it to be a successful season for your business, you’ll want to plan your marketing prior to the holidays.  It’s great to take advantage of this down time before the storm hits.  You’ll want to define your goals for this holiday season.  Is it to make more money?  Get past customers to spend more?  Obtain new customers?  That will also help you determine what kind of marketing you want to do.  Here are some tips from this article to use your e-mail marketing to your advantage this season.

1. Get a fresh lead on your market.  Go to your customers directly to find out what their plans are this holiday season.  If you’re a social networker, great.  Post questions on Facebook or Twitter for your customers to respond to.  Ask them what they’re planning on spending.  Ask them if they’re looking for specific gift ideas.  This will help you stock your items and know what a good price point is.  This is a great reason to get on Twitter and Facebook, too.  If you’re not, make sure to send out an e-mail to some past customers to find out these answers.  Send it via a survey for them to fill out.

2. Re-engage your current customers.  This is just a great way to get back in the minds of current/past customers.  You want them to make sure they remember you this season for their holiday shopping.  Ask customers what they use your products/services for or the best way they incorporated it into their business.  Publish the best ones in your next newsletter and award the “winner” with a free gift.  Ask them what they’re doing in their business, given the current economy.  Maybe you can work out a joint venture between your two businesses to be more profitable during the holidays. 

3. Refresh and expand your mailing list.  If you do have some down time, you might want to remove those addresses that are no longer valid.  Make sure that you’re still doing everything to gather new e-mails, whether it be from a Web site sign-up button or handing out your business card at networking events.  Have fans/friends sign up on your Facebook page.  That’s another way to drive business back to your Web site. 

With these tips, you’ll be sure to have a successful holiday season.  And always remember to reward referrals with handwritten thank you notes to the sender along with a small gift. 

If you’re ready to get your holiday marketing out, we can help!  Visit us online at http://www.completeresourceschicago.com

Take advantage of every holiday to boost sales

If you’re sitting back with your heels up thinking that because it’s August, there’s no reason to promote your business with a holiday, think again.  In every business, you can’t consider Thanksgiving through New Year’s the only holidays to be running a promotion or a sale.  There’s so many more options out there.  Here’s a helpful list for your upcoming promotions.

August: It’s back to school time!  Just look at all the ads in the Sunday paper.  They’re heavily advertising and running promotions on new clothes for kids as well as school supplies.  If you’re a Realtor, advertise that by buying now, you can get into your new school district before school starts.  August is also a great time to prepare for any Labor Day sales since Labor Day is usually the first Monday in September.

October: Halloween is the obvious holiday.  But try to get creative with your marketing.  Have people come in costume and give prizes or discounts to the best one.  Ask for “treats” from clients to donate to a charity of your choosing. 

November: Help local families out by sponsoring Thanksgiving dinners to those in need.  Local newspapers love to write articles on these types of events, so it’s very likely that your business will get some free advertising to boot.  If you can’t sponsor entire families, see if customers will donate an extra $1 to a local food bank.  Or have $1 or $2 of every sale go toward purchasing meals for those in need.

February: Is not just about Valentine’s Day.  Consider doing something creative with Groundhog Day.  Will we be stuck with six more weeks of winter?  Offer something to beat the winter chills.  Is spring coming early?  Promote your products for the warm weather.  You can also do something with President’s Day.  Hand out American flags to customers or give discounts if they’re wearing red, white, or blue.

April: Consider an Easter egg hunt.  Hide eggs with discounts throughout your store and have the customer bring one they find to the register.  Open it at the checkout and see what the discount is.  You can also run promotions for April Fool’s Day and Earth Day.  Have money donated to the rain forest or for every $100 a customer spends, purchase a tree in their name.

The possibilities are endless.  Try to think outside the box and come up with some new ideas for those holidays that aren’t as popular.  You can look here for more tips. Leave us a comment with the best holiday promotions you’ve seen. We’d love to share them with our other readers. And visit us online for help getting your holiday sales advertised!