It feels like it was just the other day we took down the Christmas tree and put away the decorations, but just like that, the festive season is coming up again.
For Bay of Plenty businesses, it’s the perfect time to consider promotions that will run from late November through to Christmas day and beyond.
As one of the go-to holiday destinations in New Zealand, the Bay affords local businesses a bigger opportunity than many other locations to get into the festive spirit with their marketing efforts.
But it’s one thing to plan to do some promotion, and quite another to come up with creative ideas that will bring customers through the door. Here are six ideas to help your business make the most of the lead-up to Christmas.
1) Add some sparkle to your business
Show your customers you love the silly season as much as they do by putting a Christmas spin on your logo, email signature or social media activities.
If you have a store, take the opportunity to break out the tinsel and decorations.
It lets people know you have a sense of fun and are entering into the Christmas spirit. The same can be done on your online store – make it festive.
2) Run a competition or event
Competitions with a festive theme can engage customers and get them invested in your products or services.
They can also be a great way of building a mailing list that can be used for newsletters, and marketing promotions in future.
Events such as Christmas cake decorating classes for children, or cheese and wine-tasting events for foodies, can gain coverage in your local paper and encourage people to visit and see what you have to offer.
3) Send your customers a gift
Give away free samples to provide customers with a taste of your products, or reward loyal customers with Christmas gifts.
The latter works well for service businesses as well – we all know it’s much easier to keep an existing client than to go out hunting for a new one.
4) Stay open longer
If you’re in retail, the lead-up to Christmas is time to make hay while the sun shines.
There’s more foot traffic and people are rushing around to do last-minute shopping.
Keep your doors open a little later and let your customers know about your extended hours.
Online businesses may like to consider offering fast shipping.
5) Don’t forget Summer promotions
Christmas isn’t the only event you can hang your promotions off at this time of year.
Gyms are urging people to start building their bikini bodies, surf stores are encouraging people to buy the latest board in time for the holidays, and restaurants are urging people to reserve a table for their summer soirees.
The change of seasons is an ideal opportunity for promotion.
Just remember, seasonal marketing is like telling a good joke – it’s all about timing.
6) Let your customers know your plans
There are a whole lot of opportunities to send messages to your customers during the count-down to the holidays.
Don’t forget to tell them about your upcoming promotions, thank them for their support or send them a Christmas card to let them know you care about them.
Make sure you communicate all the festive promotions and activities you are running.
