Is it too soon to start planning for 2020 holiday marketing? If you're asking this question, you have come to the right place.
The answer to your question: It's not too soon to plan your 2020 marketing strategy. In fact, it's the perfect time to start.
Many consumers begin shopping for the holidays in October--and Halloween itself can be a big holiday for some industries (candy, home décor, candles, giant plastic skeletons...). But if you're planning for the Thanksgiving - Christmas stretch, it's the perfect time to solidify a strategy and reach out to your customer base.
A Busy Time of Year
During the months of November to December, the US market has tons of opportunities for business owners to utilize in a marketing strategy. For example:
Halloween: 10/31
Election Day: 11/3
Diwali: 11/14
Black Friday: 11/27
Small Business Saturday: 11/28
Cyber Monday: 11/30
Giving Tuesday: 12/1
Hanukkah: 12/10 - 12/18
Christmas Eve - Christmas Day: 12/24 - 12/25
Kwanzaa: 12/26 - 1/1
New Year's Eve/New Year's Day: 12/31 - 1/1
Now, you may not celebrate a religious holiday, and that's okay. But it is nice to be aware of these special dates, particularly if you live in an area where there are diverse cultures. And you don't have to participate in Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, AND Giving Tuesday. It can be overwhelming to plan for all of these dates, after all!
So now that you know the dates you can use for your 2020 holiday marketing strategy, it's time to choose a few to focus on.
Small Businesses Should Focus on Several Choices
If you are a small business owner, you probably don't have a large marketing budget. Your marketing strategy may be simple--and that's okay. If this is the case for you, simply choose a few holidays to focus on. Maybe you run an Indian restaurant. Why not choose something for Diwali, Small Business Saturday, and Christmas? Or, perhaps you run an online store. Then you would want to take advantage of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the major holidays like Christmas and New Year's.
Once you've chosen the dates, it's time to put together an email marketing plan. This is a simple and affordable way to hype up your customer base before the big day(s)! Here's a sample schedule:
Two weeks before the holiday:
Send out an announcement of your sale. Let your customers know what a great deal this is and why they should remember this big day! It's especially important to consider that with the coronavirus pandemic, customers may not always have a steady income. Giving them a two-week heads up lets them plan for the event.
One week before the holiday:
Send a reminder of the offer. Highlight the preparations you have gone through to make this event special and one-of-a-kind. You may choose to add an additional promo code or coupon at this time--for those who are really paying attention, it could mean big savings and great reviews.
Two days before the holiday:
Send a final reminder. Make it more urgent than the previous emails--remind your customers that this is a one-day-only event, and that this will be their best opportunity to save money AND stock up for the holidays!
The morning of the holiday:
Send out a FINAL reminder email. Be sure to link to your best products. If you like, you can choose to highlight your "best sellers" and let your customers know that these items are disappearing fast. It's a good way to draw attention to your best offers and (hopefully) get people to purchase the inventory you want to move.
Other Elements for your Marketing Strategy
The email marketing outline provided above is a great way to reach most of your customer base--not everyone is on social media, right? But there are going to be lots of clients who are on social media, and you definitely don't want to miss the opportunity to reach your audience this way.
Whether you use Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat, or something else, you should focus on creating announcements to inform your customers of the upcoming offers. You can mirror the wording of the emails you'll be sending, but you'll want to reach out more often on social media. Here are some ways you can differentiate between email and social media marketing strategies:
Create "countdown" graphics to post daily. Every day that passes is one day closer to your big sale!
Hold a contest for people who share and follow. Winner gets an extra 30% off their order or a free item with purchase. Get creative!
Find groups promoting local businesses, especially if you want to participate in Small Business Saturday. many people are willing to share your offers with friends and family because supporting local business owners is important to them.
Pay for a few promoted ads on your social media platform of choice. They'll pay off big time right now--people are looking for great deals for the 2020 holidays, and you want to be the business they choose!
We hope you've found these tips helpful for planning your 2020 marketing strategy. If you need additional pointers or would like to hire some expert help, we'd love to chat with you. Simply use the chat box to talk to one of our marketing specialists, and we'll get the ball rolling!
Good luck!
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