Now that we are officially in full swing of the holiday season, it is time to start considering Black Friday promotions and sales, if you haven’t already. During this time, brands in every industry start to really focus on awareness and customer engagement in their campaigns. On top of that, they market to their audience with other holiday deals and shopping deadlines to promote winter sales. Because of all of these companies operating in a similar way, sometimes the space can get incredibly overcompensated for customers. It can be hard to make a choice when there are so many options available at once. To combat this, companies need to meet the needs of their customers directly. The team at LYV Marketing is here to help you and your brand connect with your customers this holiday season. Keep reading this week’s blog for more.
Incentives for Your Customers
When you are trying to get your customers to come back for second and subsequent purchases, having a loyalty program of some kind helps a lot. This helps you to increase your sales and create relationships with your customers. According to Business Wire, 46% of people surveyed said that they remain loyal to a brand because of their loyalty offerings. You can even combine these loyalty offerings with Black Friday deals. By doing this, you can increase Black Friday sales and also increase possible engagement for future campaigns.
Start Planning Early and Set Clear Goals
One of the biggest mistakes companies make surrounding the holiday season is not preparing early enough to be able to pull off the campaigns they want to run. This is especially true for Black Friday. The companies that have the best results from Black Friday are usually those who have planned far enough in advance. The earlier you start to come up with ideas and strategies, the more time you have to put them into place. These plans should all include and be focused on your KPIs or key performance indicators. These are measurable things that will tell you how your campaigns are performing. They include things like return on ad spend, cost per conversion, etc. These tell you what you need to change if you are missing certain marks you set for a campaign. It allows you to study what you’re doing instead of making rash decisions.
The Importance of Segmentation
Mass email blasts and generalized advertising are not helping digital marketers now as much as they used to. Recently, segmenting audiences and providing them with different content and messaging has been the best way to create a sense of loyalty. One of the best ways to figure out what these segments should look like is by creating buyer personas. These personas describe different types of your ideal customer. Then, these personas help you to craft messaging and strategies that will cater to each of them. You might offer them certain deals and run different ads for them, whatever it means for you to reach them where they are. Once you run these things, you can track the engagement of those who are seeing them and see if your segments are working for you.
Holiday Visuals and Messaging
Black Friday and Holiday content in general often features a lot of festive nods and clear promotions and discounts. Because these are normally pretty cookie cutter, we recommend you design your ads in a way that will stand out to online and in-person users. By creating urgency and including calls to action, you can make an impact quickly. Couple this with social proof and real reviews, and you have an ad that will attract many holiday shoppers. Creating credibility within your audience is so important for the success of your company and is usually what converts passive scrollers into active shoppers and then hopefully loyal customers.
The Checkout Experience
Making sure the checkout process for both mobile and web users during this time is absolutely crucial. If there are too many steps or barriers to purchase, customers might abandon things in their cart and shop somewhere that provides them with a more seamless experience. Black Friday and the holiday season usually provide more mobile users than any other time during the year. Before we enter Christmas time in full-swing, check on your mobile site and make sure it is optimized and ready to handle more users than normal. This helps with decision-making and keeps your customers moving through the buying funnel.
Takeaway: Preparations for Black Friday are Essential for Success
Black Friday and holiday season are an extremely competitive time for businesses, but they can provide some of the best returns that you will see all year. By preparing with ample time, you can stay focused and hopefully achieve your goals. If you need an extra hand during your holiday prep, the team at LYV Marketing is here to help you achieve your goals. Give us a call today at (814) 931-2094 or visit our website at www.lyvmarketing.com and fill out our contact form!
