Marketing ideas to implement this Christmas
Marketing ideas for service businesses to implement this Christmas and New Years.
Christmas is fast approaching. For some businesses this means peak sales season, and for others, itâs a chance to catch up on some well-deserved rest. Either way, this period can be frantic for consumers and businesses owners alike. Now is the time to prepare your marketing initiatives for the Christmas and New Year season to stay in the mind of your customers (or clients) and ensure you can hit the ground running in January with momentum.
Here are a couple of marketing ideas you can implement this Christmas:
(P.S - These ideas are tuned to local service businesses)
Create inspiring content ahead of January
Most people are âchecked-outâ over Christmas. Theyâve overwhelmed by all the retail marketing, along with decision fatigue from the logistics that come with Christmas parties and events.
This isnât the time for complicated or clever marketing. Instead, focus on developing helpful, entertaining and inspirational content thatâs easy to consume and will leave your customers with a positive feeling that they will remember during the holidays period. If executed well, your January sales campaigns will be more effective.
For example: A travel business posts photos on social media of âthe most beautiful places on earthâ, curated from their customers throughout the year. (Who doesnât love some travel inspiration when thinking about where to go next year and discussing with family and friends?!)
Offer a Christmas incentive
If youâre needing consistent sales in early December before your team (and customers) switch to holiday mode, consider a â12 Days of Christmasâ incentive, starting December 1st. If youâre running a cafe or restaurant, this could be a special offer on a different food or beverage for 12 days. If youâre a service-based business, it could be a simple offer lasting 12-days.
Customers respond well to deadlines, so be specific. If you have a product or serve that has to be fulfilled by a certain date, create a cut-off date and market it to customers early on.
For example: A local beauty shop advertises an early-bird December offer in the first 12 days of the month. They then follow up with a campaign that appointments are âfilling up fastâ, and to book in before the 13th to âlook beautiful for your Christmas partiesâ.
Send personal gifts to select customers/clients
Think about customers (or clients, partners) that have impacted your business this year. Donât just filter by revenue size, think about who has supported your business beyond the dollars. Take a moment to write down some names.
Once youâve got a short list, think about a personal gift you can send out during the Christmas period. I say personal, not personalised, because thereâs a big difference. Anyone can personalise a mug or bottle of wineâthere are plenty of services to do that⊠Personal means youâve taken the time and effort to think about who the person is, what they like, what theyâve been throughâŠetc. Personal gifts are meaningful and memorable. Lastly, consider how you deliver the gift. In person is always best so that you can look them in the eye and thank them. People care more about you caring for them, than they do receiving the actual gift itself.
For example: John runs a local accounting firm and thereâs a young couple that keeps referring similar clients to them. John calls them to visit his office and spends some time asking them about their year. Because John made the effort to listen and take notes on his clients throughout the year, he recalls that they enjoy the local Thai restaurant. He purchases a gift card and hand writes a note to hand to them as a gift. John thanks them for being his client and for recommending their business.
Share and celebrate your wins
Celebrating in the success of your customers/clients is a great way to finish the year with gratitude and appreciation for all the hard work your team has put in. Sharing wins publicly (social media, email newsletters etc.) also reinforces to your community that your business is delivering results above and beyond.
This isnât just a good marketing idea, itâs an energy lifter for your whole team: Who doesnât love to celebrate the results of their good work? Think about how much more confident your team members will feel as they go into Christmas events with their families and friends, being able to share the wins, stories and successes from their work. Make the effort this Christmas period to take stock of all the wins (including internal team wins) and follow up with customers to leave their reviews before the Christmas rush.
Written by Lachlan Nicolson.
