4 Time-Tested Holiday Marketing Techniques

We’re right in the midst of the holiday season, but it’s not too late for your company to make some money to finish Q4 on a high note. This has been a tough year for so many businesses, but the holidays are a time when most people are willing to spend money, even those who have tightened their belts considerably in 2020.

With that in mind, let’s look at a few holiday marketing techniques that might help you as this year draws to a close. These are some of the better ones that companies use to get their customers’ attention and drum up some quick sales.

Have a Two-for-One Sale

Some shoppers go for months waiting for those magical words, “two-for-one.” They might not buy from a company for almost an entire calendar year until that business entity has one of their legendary two-for-one sales at the end of Q4. This is a way to attract customers who:

• Don’t have a ton of money to spend right now
• Are still looking for last-minute friend and family holiday gifts

The other thing you can do is offer products for 50% off. It amounts to the same thing as a two-for-one promotion.

The thing to keep in mind is that you might have specific items you can’t afford to give away that cheaply. You can always exclude those items rather than making your whole line or catalog available.

You might offer those items at a discount during the promotion, just not 50% off or two-for-ones. You might offer them for 30 or 40% off, or you might do a buy-two, get-one-free deal.

It gets cold at this time, so if you have a warehouse full of workers, you might consider getting some infrared gas heaters for commercial use. Your staff will thank you for them.

Have a Flash Sale

You can also sometimes rope in some new customers by having a flash sale. The idea behind one is you’re sending the message that:

• The customer has only a few hours to get exclusive products
• The customer has only a short time to get deep discounts or bargains

It’s similar to a two-for-one promotion, but because you’re only offering these prices for a single day, or perhaps two days at most, you’re adding in that urgency element. You’re planting the idea in the customer’s mind that if they spend too much time thinking it over, they’ll miss out on this amazing deal.

Have a Social Media Marketing Blitz

Your company is probably already active on various social media platforms. Depending on your ideal customer age group, income level, gender, etc., you might use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or others.

Whichever ones you use, you might have automated your messages using a tool like Hootsuite. This way, you’re sending out a couple of social media communications per day, or however often you think makes sense.

You do not want to send out too many social media messages, or else you will make yourself obnoxious, and people might unfollow you. However, around the holidays is the one time of year you should step up your efforts.

You might send out twice as many messages to your followers as usual, just for a few days. They should also be more promotional and less conversational than they usually would be.

You normally don’t want to sound too corporate or like you’re pushing your followers to buy. This is the one time of year, though, that you might attempt the harder sell. Remember they’re looking for holiday gift items, and if they feel some brand loyalty, they’ll probably be more willing to buy than usual.

Step Up Your Email Marketing Campaign

This is also the time of year to send out more promotional emails than you usually would. Some individuals do not use social media. You might only have their email address as a way to contact them if they have bought from you before.

Just like with social media messages, you won’t want to contact anyone too often via email, or they may unsubscribe. Once or twice per week should be as many times as you should reach out.

During the holiday season, you can increase that. You can send out one email per day in late December. You might mention a different item that’s on sale with each email you send. Once the holidays are done, you can return to the regular routine. Hopefully, your efforts will have garnered you some last-minute sales.