It’s hard to believe we’re already approaching mid-November.
Here’s a scary thought: Christmas is coming!
Are you prepared for all your upcoming Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Xmas, Boxing Day, and other end-of-year marketing campaigns?
Wondering what other companies are doing?
Looking for some inspiration?
Then this is for you.
We’ve put together 12 popular, proven, and practical marketing ideas that just about any small business owner, entrepreneur, or freelancer can implement to engage customers and drive sales through the busy festive season.
Without further ado,
12 Popular, Proven, and Practical Marketing Ideas for Christmas
1. Christmas Cards
Generally the most popular option for small business is some kind of simple “Merry Christmas,” “Season’s Greetings” or “Thank You For Your Support” card with a short message from the team sent to your customers and suppliers. You might want to send a traditional printed card or create a digital version including a picture of the team or some kind of discount coupon as a special thank-you for being a loyal customer. Canva is a popular choice for quickly creating eCards.
2. Gift Cards
Probably the next most popular Christmas option after the greeting card is the gift card. A gift card might not be as initially impressive as a big wrapped gift, but it’s generally a much safer bet to give someone store credit which they can use in their own way, in their own time. Plus, it creates less product waste and translates directly into profit if the card goes unused. If you have an existing card, why not put it front and centre in your marketing? If you don’t offer a gift card, consider creating a specially-branded version just for Christmas.
3. Highlight “Popular Stock” and “Perfect Gifts”
People have a lot of options during the Christmas rush and often have many people to buy for, so sometimes it’s best to highlight what items are best-sellers, perfect for Christmas, or most appropriate for certain types of customers to help simplify their choices.
4. A “Limited Time Only” or “Limited Edition” Christmas Product or Event
If eBay’s popularity is evidence of anything it’s that people love to collect things. Depending on what your business sells, you might have the option to create a special limited edition version of a particular product or run a limited-time, Christmas-themed event such as a webinar.
5. Free Shipping
This is an increasingly popular sales promotion. Many buyers proceed to check-out going off the advertised price and then forget or don’t realise there are additional costs (such as shipping), which are then added to the total price at the end. This can cause the customer to rethink their purchase or abandon the cart. Consider running free shipping for a limited time or for 1-day only.
6. Add a Splash of Christmas Decor
Whether you have a physical store, a website, or both, a great way to get into the Christmas spirit, engage customers’ curiosity, and generally make everyone feel more welcome is to throw up some decorations in your office such as lights, tinsel, and a tree, or sprinkle in some unique Christmas icons around your website such as Santa hats, candy canes, and colourful stockings.
7. A Rock-Solid Promotional Offer
A discount strategy in the range of 10% – 30% off probably won’t stand out. Everyone is bombarded with ads around this time while looking for the most outstanding bargains. Maybe it’s time to go all out in your email and social media marketing. As a gripping headline, you could try something like this: “Our Biggest Ever Holiday Sale, 80% Off Sitewide For 24 Hours.”
8. A Christmas Gift Guide (Printed, Digital Catalog, or Image Snippet)
If you have a product-based business, a gift guide can be a great way to showcase a particular assortment of products in an Xmas themed look, indicating which products might be a hit with mums and dads, aunties and uncles.
9. Power Up Social Media
If it’s something you’ve been putting off, there’s no time like Christmas time to get involved in social media, since it’s generally a more relaxed and sales-friendly atmosphere. For example, you could do something incorporating “12 Days of Christmas” into a marketing campaign featuring a running series of daily tips or ideas related to your general area of business or a specific product you want to showcase. If you’re new to the social media gig, professional pictures of the team or product shots are probably a sensible way to start out.
10. Hold Competitions or Contests
This is essentially a timeless marketing tactic that can be modified to fit any special occasion. It just depends on what kind of contest or competition you want to run and what kind of giveaway you think will generate interest, from a major cash prize, to a gift card, to a unique product reward.
11. Run With a Theme
There’s plenty of themed options related to Christmas, including: Santa, reindeer, elves, stockings, candy canes, carols, snowflakes, snowmen, christmas trees, bon bons, and the grinch. You could apply different or similar themes to certain aspects of marketing, such as your website, social media, packaging, greeting cards, and catalogs. For example, you could create a fun, daily series of cartoon Christmas messages from one of each of Santa’s reindeer.
12. Partner With a Charity
As they say, the spirit of Christmas is all about giving, so it makes sense to get involved with, or make mention of, some kind of charitable cause. For example, you might get involved in a donation matching program or give a certain percentage of Christmas sales directly to a preferred charity.
We hope these suggestions help stoke the fires and get you thinking about different marketing campaigns for the upcoming weeks.
Last minute stressing about marketing is never a fun way to spend what should be the most exciting, action packed, and best sales period of the year.
If you’re pulling your hair out thinking about Xmas marketing and want a little expert guidance, we run a free 30-minute marketing strategy session.
I’m also open for questions anytime.
Here’s to your best ever Christmas sales period,
Broden
PS. I’ll be speaking on the 16th of November at an event for business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs on how to recession proof your mind and business. Proceeds go towards supporting mental health. Book your ticket here.
