With the yearend euphoria of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas in the air, ecommerce brands increasingly need effective strategies to ramp up sales in the holiday season.
Before Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands started to embrace online sales channels, customers stood in long queues, camping out in discomfort just for the best Black Friday deals. This online initiative has certainly enhanced the shopping experience of millions of consumers. According to stats by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) nearly 75% of surveyed shoppers revealed their intentions to switch to online trading during the 2020 holiday season.
The global pandemic has inspired a hub of brands and consumers interacting via digital marketing. The pandemic has also driven ecommerce adoption 10 years into the future. According to Shopify’s Steve Hutt, ecommerce levels are at 2030 heights, exceeding expectations from where they anticipated it would go due to the pandemic. The obvious question arises then:
How can Direct To Consumer (DTC) businesses enhance their marketing strategies before and during the holiday season?
1. Audit Previous Campaigns
A company’s first steps of ensuring success during festive periods should be auditing previous holiday marketing campaigns. Businesses should review the data of previous years and evaluate the marketing strategies that worked vs. which tactics didn’t. This will ensure that mistakes are not repeated.
Enterprises should assess their customer data as well. A good understanding of your consumers will help in delivering impactful marketing messages.
2. Get a head start in the Game
Procrastinating till December is surely not beneficial for holiday season success. It is more practical to launch new products or services with discounts and specials much sooner than later. For instance, Black Friday and Cyber Monday can be introduced in October and Christmas in November to ensure your business gains traction quickly. Plus, this is a great opportunity to access business practices that work and identify loyal shoppers before the yearend rush.
3. Focus on Call to Actions (CTAs) they can’t ignore
As holiday season approaches, finding ways to stand out is usually high on the priority list of most ecommerce businesses. From amusing marketing slogans to eye-pleasing aesthetics, brands do their best to warm the hearts of potential clients and make products significant to them.
It should be mandatory for brands to make sure that their Call to Action (CTA) is strong enough to lure in new clients and excite existing ones. “New Client Special – 15% and to all our loyal customers you get – 35% off!
These strategies can be applied in your Social Media and Pay Per Click (PPC) Ads.
Apart from a strong CTA on the website, it is also of paramount importance for DTC companies to prioritise their storefront for sales. Businesses should place holiday promotions in prime positions on their homepage.
4. Entice with Free Gifts
Another smart marketing strategy is sending free gifts with a purchase. This is another effective way to promote brands. Offering a gift with a purchase exposes clients to products they might not have been aware of, which is likely to have a positive effect on revenue. This also builds excitement as customers anticipate the arrival of their packages in the mail. Typically, the more expensive products incite delight in consumers. Throwing on free stickers on expensive free gifts helps promote brands for fractions of the cost.
5. Align Marketing to Customer’s New Year Resolutions
Many people set New Year goals.
Tying marketing efforts with New Year resolutions can have progressive impacts on company sales. For instance, if a company is in the health and fitness sector, they should cater to those New Year resolution goals around losing stubborn body fat with marketing campaigns about helping clients achieve their targets of self-improvement in the coming year.
6. Use social media and Influencers effectively
As a business entity, adjusting to top trends and the ever-changing marketing landscape is a key to unlock success. Social media, branded hashtags, influencers, blog posts and podcast commercials have played influential roles in helping businesses thrive in the digital economy. Exploring these platforms will certainly give companies more exposure when marketing for the holidays.
One can never doubt social media’s unquestionable impact on marketing today. Gift inspiration and recommendations are presented to consumers, usually from the content of influencers. Companies are now connecting with influencers to help promote their brands, market specific products, and send messages that connect with their following; this works perfectly around the holidays for DTC companies.
Partnering up with social media influencers comes highly recommended as their services are well in demand around the holidays to market specific products. One of the benefits of exploring this marketing approach is its affordability. Micro-influencers have proven the wonders of even the most modest of budgets.
7. Construct a Mobile Friendly Site
Creating Mobile friendly sites is another tactic known to have a positive influence on sales.
Modern day consumers request mobile usability as the number of people with access to smartphones steadily grow. It is vital for corporate webpages to be compatible with smartphone browsers and an effective app created to facilitate resourceful business results. This ensures that consumers can shop at their convenience while waiting in queues, boarding flights or even at hair salons. It’s easy to analyse data and view the activity of buyers on a desktop. Accessibility to all users is of extreme importance around the holidays.
8. Stress-free Payment and Fast Delivery
When clients are ready to transact, they want a stress-free experience. Companies should be able to accept payments via credit cards, Apple pay, Google pay, Pay Pal or other alternatives.
Businesses should also explore the option of adding e-gift cards to their menu, this gives holiday gifters the opportunity to send gifts to family and friends overseas. Partnership with credible fulfilment services is also vital in making sure orders are delivered in a timely manner, ideally within 2 days.
Hopefully, this article has enlightened your business on different ways to certify success in your marketing engagements during the 2021 holiday season.
Good luck with your holiday marketing and many happy returns on investment!
