Using the holidays to promote your products and services

The season of gift-giving and family gatherings will be here soon. Department stores are adding decorations and implementing their marketing strategies for the holidays. Why not use your website as a “virtual store” and be open for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas shoppers.

Marketing for the holidays

Here are a few ideas to that will put shopping at your website on customers “to-do” list. 

• Based on your past sales of products or services, what are the popular offerings? Take those items/services and offer a discount on them, or give them away free along with another purchase. Do you have holiday-specific items? Discount them too.
• Offer free shipping during the holiday.
• Write about your promotions on your blog.
• Use your existing customer database to to send out emails with personalized offers based on past purchases. And on that note, use a professional email service like Constant Contact.
• Don’t forget about Facebook! Let your followers and friends know what sales awaits them on your site.
• Add nice images of your products or services to Facebook and emails, along with information and special pricing.
• Put your promotions front and center on your website. Make it easy for visitors to see what you are offering.
• And while you are at it, clean up your site and make certain all product information is correct and up to date.
• Have backup products should you run out of inventory.
• Keep in mind shipping deadlines! Make it clear when the deadline is for getting item to customers before Christmas.
• Think about your return policy. 

Time to get started!

It is less than 2 months till Christmas, so if you have not yet began working on your plan, it is time to start! Take advantage of the holiday season and the revenue opportunities that come with it.

One last note: there are other holidays for which you can offer promotions. Keep these in mind when preparing your overall, annual marketing plan:

•  New Years Day
•  Valentine Day
•  St. Patricks Day
•  Easter
•  Mother’s Day
•  Father’s Day
•  Independence Day
•  Columbus Day
•  Halloween
•  Veterans Day
•  Thanksgiving
•  Black Friday
•  Cyber Monday 
•  Hanukkah
•  Christmas

Happy Holidays!!