Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of the biggest shopping days of the year, and they’re fast approaching. Both have become synonymous with huge sales and closeout deals, and the former being known for the crazy and out of control crowds. For businesses, they are a time where brand awareness is increased, there are more site visits as people scan for deals and a period where high conversion rates are possible. Your success begins and ends with your marketing plan. We’ve created this guide to help you make sure that your marketing strategy is revamped and ready to tackle the 2019 holiday shopping season.
Black Friday is Just the Beginning
While Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the shining stars of the holiday shopping season, the week in between the two sees a spike in numbers as well. Most websites experience a drop off of customers in the weeks leading up to the major shopping event, but site traffic skyrockets up to ten days before. This spike in site visits is due to shoppers researching their potential purchases and holding off until the sales are revealed. If you plan on taking advantage of this major shopping period (and you should) then it’s a good idea to make sure that there is room in your budget to engage users. Shoppers are ready to spend money, and many who are active on Black Friday and Cyber Monday will continue to shop the deals days after. Make sure that you have emails and ads ready to go in order to capitalize on open wallets, a good week has the potential to set you up for a solid Q4.
Television Ads are Still Effective
Many may think that the shift from conventional television to streaming platforms has caused commercials to die a slow death. While this is not necessarily true, it has forced marketers to evaluate their current marketing plans and reallocate funds. Television ads have not lost their relevance, or their ability to convert. Instead, they have had to adapt to the new and varied ways that buyers watch TV. If television ads are a part of your current holiday marketing strategy, consider spending money on platforms like YouTube and Network-based apps where commercials are limited, but cannot be skipped. According to a study conducted by Steelhouse*, TV holiday campaigns averaged a 6X return on ad spend, proving their worth in conversions.
Retargeting and Prospecting Go Hand in Hand
When it comes to your target audience, the holiday season is akin to casting a wide net and pulling in all kinds of fish. In order to bolster sales and increase awareness, you should focus your efforts on reaching prospective customers so that you can drive more site traffic, increasing your retargeting pool and allowing more conversions. If your normal strategy calls for a heavier prospecting campaign, use the holiday season to experiment with adding a retargeting element. Just remember, timing is key. The earlier you launch your prospecting campaign, the larger your targeting pool is to drive leads down the sales funnel so they convert.
Shoppers Are Looking to Spend
It goes without saying that Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the week following are the best time of the year to get a deal on pretty much anything and everything. Shoppers know this, which means that they’re going to spend money on not only gifts for the upcoming holiday season, but anything they have had their eye on. The key to success during this shopping frenzy is awareness. If your customers are not aware of the sales that you are running, then what’s the point? As soon as you have your deals ready, start sending emails, posting on social media and running commercials to alert your audience. The biggest obstacle you face is your audience not knowing how you’re saving them money, which you can combat by ramping up your awareness efforts. Maximizing your profit during this time comes down to how you position yourself and your brand and once you’ve done this you can sit back and watch your profits roll in.
If you would like to learn more about revamping your holiday marketing strategy click on the banner below to schedule a free 30-minute consultation with us.
