|
Successful Holiday Marketing in a Negative Economy
By Shannan Hearne,
http://www.SuccessPromotions.com
Christmas is just
around the corner. E-tailers are struggling to make
ends meet in a negative economy headed rapidly into
a recession. Keeping the books out of the red and
the sales coming is getting harder and harder. But
your internet store can keep the cha-ching of the
cash register ringing in your ear with some simple
planning and successful holiday marketing.
The following tips
can make the difference in negative or positive
sales in a negative economy this holiday shopping
season.
The National Retail Federation expects
total holiday retail sales to
increase 5 percent over last year for a whopping
$435.3 billion in holiday spending.
Will your business get your fair share?
Successfully generating holiday sales is all about
helping your customers solve their dilemmas of
paying their regular bills without breaking the bank
on holiday shopping. You must first reach potential
customers and then offer them solutions to shopping
for their entire family purchasing affordable gifts
that are perfect for everyone on their shopping
list.
First you must reach customers. Contact your
existing client base with money saving messages that
remind them regularly that your store can help them
shop for the Christmas holidays without going over
an ever-shrinking budget. Maintaining and working
your mailing list (or emailing list) is a
cost-effective way to reach people who you already
know are interested in your products.
Second you must solve the holiday shopping dilemmas
of your customers. Providing gift ideas, and ideas
that stay within their budgets, keeps you at the top
of your customers’ shopping lists. Remind customers
of unique gift ideas they can get from you that they
can’t get from their local big box store or your
online competitors. Solve their Christmas budget
problems with specials, combined shipping discounts,
frequent buyer programs, and other money saving
offers.
Third, remember that timing is everything. Some
people shop early, while others frantically search
for last minute offers and speedy shipping to meet
their buying needs. If you plan multiple holiday
offers coupled with shipping options for the early
bird and the late shopper, you position your e-store
to meet the needs of a larger niche market. Don’t
forget that many people travel for the holidays and
need to get their shopping done and delivered to
their final holiday destinations. Offer
multi-location shipping so that your customers can
shop for friends and family local and far away.
Fourth, stay tuned in to the ever-changing needs of
your customers old and new. If people are looking
for widgets in a color you don’t stock, offer to get
the color for them or direct them to another
solution within your store shelves. With the cost
of fuel rising and gas hard to find, people are
searching for shipping solutions that work better
than going to the local store. If the economy dips
closer to recession and your customers fear for
their jobs, buying more for less becomes a
consideration. Be prepared to lower prices and
offer better bargains at the drop of a hat if the
economy requires you to do so. Along that same
vein, focus your buying on items that leave you a
profit margin large enough to lop some off the top
if necessary without bleeding your company dry.
Finally, plan your marketing now and launch your
campaigns quickly so that you are ready for the
early bird shopper and the last minute looker.
Don’t wait until your competition announces their
holiday specials to compete with them directly. Put
together Christmas deals and steals now that appeal
to your niche market and let your competition play
catch up with you. The early bird still gets the
worm. And the earliest marketer attracts the most
shoppers.
Don’t bury your head in the sand and throw in the
towel because the market isn’t what it was last
year. Projections are still out for holiday
spending to be up from last year and with proper
planning, you can see your sales increase, too.
Shannan Hearne is the President and Wizard of
http://www.SuccessPromotions.com
Marketing Your e-Business Better through creative
marketing and knowledge. Guerrilla Marketing.
One-to-One Marketing. Relationship Marketing. Your
Marketing. Shannan is also a founding team member
of Inspiring Parents, a network of like minded
people building an income and saving money on the
things they buy every day and helping others to do
the same. You can reach Ms. Hearne via email at
shannan@successpromotions.com |
