Online businesses usually start promoting their products before the start of the holiday season. This helps them in achieving greater time duration for peak sales. As soon as Independence Day goes by, we start seeing products for Halloween on display.
However, what most stores do not understand is that they do not need to promote their sales in advance. All they need to do is to plan the holiday season effectively and efficiently so that they can tackle it successfully.
The best form of marketing for the holiday season is via email. Read below to discover how to plan and prepare your email marketing strategy:
Collect Email Addresses for All Your Customers
It is funny how contact details can get lost over time. Track down your contact list that has the details of your customers and compile it together. Try to get email addresses from all your new customers as well.
If your customers have willingly subscribed to your store to receive news of the promotions and sales you offer, do not forget to include them in the list. Keep a policy of sending emails to customers even if their email addresses appear to be closed. Most of the time, emails are temporarily inactive and your emails might just reach them in time for the sale.
Opt for Co-Branding and Acquire New Subscribers
Most customers do not make a purchase one their first visit to a site. Choose to make a partnership with brands and companies that have products that complement yours. You can market their products and they can provide links to yours. Co-branding can work well because people often buy things that are associated to known brands.
As mentioned above, you can also choose to increase your list of subscribers by sending out emails for new subscriptions or by requesting contact details from your recent customers.
Test Your Automated Email System
If your system sends out automated queries and reminders for abandoned carts, test it prior to the holiday season. Make sure that your system is working perfectly so that it does not create a problem during the peak holiday season when abandoned carts start piling up in your store.
Provide Incentives to New Customers and Rewards to Loyal Customers
Keep a track of your newest customers during the holiday season. Follow up with them later via email and offer them deals, discounts and other incentives for shopping at your store. Also remember to send out thank you mails or small rewards like a gift card or a discount deal to your repetitive loyal customers. These strategies will help you in retaining clients and encourage them to buy from your store more frequently.
Set Up a Plan for the Holiday Sales Today
Plan for your holiday sale season in advance and do not leave it for the last minute. You must have a calendar marked with the events, sales and promotions you want to implement so that there is no confusion at the last minute. Having a tentative plan is a good strategy. However, you can modify it according to the situation when you need to do so.