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The holidays are a critical time for businesses. It’s the time of year when people are the most generous and most likely to spend money on things they wouldn’t normally buy. That’s why it’s so important to get your holiday marketing right. However, even with the best of intentions, many marketers end up making some fatal mistakes that cost them dearly in terms of sales and ROI. In this article, we’ll explore 7 of the most common mistakes marketers make when executing their holiday campaigns so that you can avoid them and make the most of this critical sales period.
7 Mistakes Marketers Make With Their Holiday Campaigns (and How to Avoid Them)
Here are the seven most common mistakes marketers make during the holiday season (Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday) —and how to avoid them.
1. Not Planning Your Offer Wisely
One of the most common mistakes marketers make is not taking the time to plan their offer carefully. They think they can just put any old thing together, and people will buy it because it’s the holidays. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. People are more discerning than ever before, and if your offer isn’t competitive or doesn’t meet their needs, they’ll take their business elsewhere.
This year opt for a value-added offer.
One of Warren Buffett’s most famous quotes is, “Price is what you pay; value is what you get.”
Price is the amount of money your customer pays for a product. Value is what your customer perceives the benefits of that product to be and the emotional connection he/she has to the product and the brand concerning the price.
2. Not Creating a Sense of Urgency
Another mistake marketers make is failing to create a sense of urgency around their offer. If people don’t feel like they need to act now, they’ll likely procrastinate and never end up buying anything from you.
Make sure your offer has a strong call-to-action and limited-time discount to encourage people to take action now rather than later.
3. Not Promoting Your Product Enough
With all the noise during the holidays, it’s easy for your product to get lost in the shuffle if you don’t promote it enough. Ensure you’re using all channels available to you—email, social media, paid ads, etc.—to reach your message as many people as possible.
While the context is a bit different for each platform – you can reuse similar content across all channels. Plus, when you use a social media scheduler, such as COREsocial – you can promote across all channels at once! LEARN MORE HERE.
4. Not Creating Compelling Emails
Email is still one of the most effective marketing channels available, but only if you use it strategically. During the holidays, your inbox is probably flooded with promotional messages from brands vying for your attention. Stand out by creating compelling emails that actually offer value rather than just trying to sell, sell, sell.
Some ideas for filling your sales emails with great messaging:
- mention one of their pain points and insert your solution
- use a testimonial that points out another one of their pain points solved
- overcome one objection
- insert a paradigm shift to get them to shift their beliefs
- simple sales email mentioning benefits with product mock up
5. Not Segmenting and Targeting Potential Buyers
Another common mistake is failing to segment and target potential buyers carefully. Just because someone is on your email list doesn’t mean they’re actually interested in what you have to offer—especially during the holidays when everyone’s inboxes are overflowing with messages.
Take the time to segment your list so you’re only sending relevant messages to those who are actually interested in hearing from you at this time of year.
Inside your Email Software, for example, segment those who are actively clicking links to your website so you can continue sending them ‘last chance’ offers as they are the audience most interested in your messaging.
6. Not Using the Power of Social Media
Social media is an incredibly powerful marketing tool, but only if used correctly. During the holidays, many brands make the mistake of bombarding their followers with constant sales pitches and promotions without offering any real value or considering what their followers want to see during this time of year.
Slow down and take a strategic approach to social media to provide value, connect with their inner emotions, and create relationships rather than just trying to make a quick sale.
7. Not Embracing Automation
Technology has come a long way in recent years, and there are now more automation tools available than ever before—but many marketers are still resistant to using them because they think it makes their brand seem impersonal or robotic.
However, this couldn’t be further from the truth!
Automation simply frees up your time so that you can focus on other aspects of your business while still delivering a high-quality experience for your customers/clients.
My Recommended Scheduling Software:
- COREsocial – for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
- COREemail – for Email
During such a busy time of year, automation tools can be a lifesaver by helping you take care of all those little tasks that tend to get forgotten in the hustle and bustle—sending follow-up emails after purchase, for instance, or sending birthday coupons on customer anniversaries… things like that can easily be automated without compromising quality or personalization.
Ep 55: 7 Steps to Execute a Successful Holiday E-Commerce Strategy
Closing: holiday social media campaign
The holiday season is crucial for businesses—but it’s also easy to make mistakes that can cost you dearly in terms of sales and ROI. However, by avoiding these seven common mistakes, you can set yourself up for success and make the most out of this critical sales period. So, what are you waiting for? Start planning your holiday marketing campaign today! And Remember: Always test, measure, and optimize!
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The holidays sneak up on us every year, but that doesn’t mean we should wait until the last minute to start planning our campaigns. In fact, the best way to avoid stress and ensure a successful holiday campaign is to start planning early. By starting your planning as early as September or October, you’ll have plenty of time to execute your plans without feeling rushed.
For help, refer to our Holiday Social Media Strategy Guide – With this step-by-step process, you’ll have everything you need to make your business stand out during the year’s busiest shopping season. LEARN MORE HERE.
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