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The holidays are upon us and a new marketing season has officially begun. The US holiday season is incredibly important for most businesses – whether online or offline. Since “Black Friday” marks the day when most consumer goods operations go “out of the red and into the black” on accounting sheets, you can imagine how critical it is to make the most of this notorious period of consumer spending. But you already knew all of that, so I won’t bore you with the details.
Instead, let’s dig into taking your holiday season marketing plan into the online world to maximize your results. Although we’re already well underway, it’s definitely not too late to take action and rally your existing customer base for even more sales or to develop a web marketing strategy for acquiring even more customers during this period.
First, it’s important to note whether or not you’re marketing in a B2B (business-to-business) or a B2C (business-to-consumer) environment. Naturally, the holidays are much more about consumer purchases than business-building purchases but there are still very important details to note for B2B operations.
For the B2C marketing plan, your goal is simply to create the best offer for your customers as possible. Much of this will involve keeping tabs on your competition to see how your consumer base will compare your offers within the market. Your primary motivation is to obtain as much business from each customer as possible. This might sound obvious, but you should really think about the significance of this point. Many consumers are searching for a one-stop shop for their holiday needs. The more of this you can provide and the more of it you can portray in your marketing efforts, the better.
For the B2B marketing plan, your goal is much more about timing. Remember that offices close and many people take extended vacation periods during the holidays. In addition, many business operations go through a bit of a “slump” period as cold weather and that “holiday feeling” sets in. Your primary motivation is to encourage your customer base to take action during a period when they otherwise would not. You have to give these folks a reason to buy — tax benefits, huge discounts, next year benefits, etc.
Despite these two basic differences, I’m sure you’ll find that most of the action steps are essentially the same for B2B and B2C holiday web marketing.
I know you’ve heard it a thousand times, but let’s not forget that a down economy means a slow holiday season. Many people are going to be tight with their money this year, so this is the greatest friction you have to overcome in your marketing materials. This means offering lower prices, added benefits, bonus products, future credits, etc.
Amazon.com is doing a great job with this already.
Their “Black Friday Deals” page includes some of the best holiday web marketing copy I’ve seen so far:
“You shouldn’t have to stand in a long line to get a great deal. We’re searching for the best Black Friday deals everywhere–including deals other stores are planning–so we can meet or beat their prices and bring them to you even earlier. These limited-supply offers will go quickly but we’ll add new ones throughout the day, every day this week, so you can skip the long lines and still save a bundle.”
Two critical points are addressed very quickly in this online marketing example:
1. “You shouldn’t have to stand in a long line to get a great deal.”
It’s true, and this is the major benefit of shopping on the web. Amazon’s making it very clear that if you’re looking to save money (and who isn’t?) then their website is the place to be.
2. “We’re searching for the best Black Friday deals everywhere.”
Yes, that includes their competitors. Now you really have a one-stop shopping experience with the very best deals included. Everyone knows the most rewarding and yet the most frustrating thing about online shopping is the seemingly endless amount of options. Amazon takes care of this in just a few sentences of targeted copy.
All right – let’s get into the nuts-and-bolts of how you can pull this off. In my opinion, you should build your online holiday marketing plan around two major goals: building your list and making more sales. And that’s it. Generally, we can achieve these two things simultaneously. Now here are the action steps:
1. Create Your Offer
To get started, you’ll need to develop a compelling offer that will really build excitement and attention within your market. You can do this by taking a look at what your competitors are doing, but I would suggest going with something unique and creative. Unless you have a proven holiday marketing system, it’s really important that your offer stands out from the crowd. Of course, you’ll also need to prepare an offer that will benefit you as much as your customer. If you’re prepared to take a loss in order to build your list for the coming year, that’s a win-win arrangement for sure.
2. Add Flair to Your Website
With your offer ready to go, it’s time to spice up that website so your existing customers will know it’s there and so you can be sure “window shoppers” are just as taken in as those already on your direct marketing list. Flair can include new graphics, fresh copy, etc. Just make sure your holiday marketing offer is clear and present to anyone who visits your site.
3. Broadcast the Offer
Now it’s time to open the floodgates. If you already have an email marketing list (and I hope you do), this is the very best place to begin. Send out a mass email to your subscriber base letting them know about the offer. This is another place to spend a lot of time developing the subject line and body text copy. Remember, consumers are inundated with advertising during this period so your offer needs to be incredibly compelling and the timing needs to be spot on. Also, you might consider creating a plan for continuing to reach out to your customers during this period. You definitely don’t want to reduce the size of your list by over-marketing, but don’t limit yourself to one quick “Black Friday” message.
Keep an eye on your marketing results throughout the season and take time just before the New Year to do some real measuring. This is a great time to make notes for next year’s holiday marketing Internet Marketing Strategy. And, of course, don’t forget to relax and enjoy the holiday season too!
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Good article Jason! I like how you point out the differences between the b2b and the b2c markets. I have websites that go for both of these markets and am already doing some holiday promo stuff for both types. What do you think about loss leaders for holiday deals and specials?
Thanks, Beth. Yes, “loss leaders” like we typically see in grocery/market advertisements — $0.99/lb Steak OR Buy 1 Get 1 Free Cereal — are a great way to capture the attention of your market. Of course, you need to be sure you have a way to upsell your customers enough to make up for your loss. If that’s all squared away, those strategies are golden! -Jason