Are your customers going to pay attention to your store this Holiday season?

For retailers around the world- it's holiday crunch time. By now, you’ve purchased the right products, you’ve meticulously merchandised them on the store floor, you have invested in staff training and ensured that the in-store experience will be a memorable one – but there's just one problem,  there are no customers paying attention.

It's time to wake up and kick your marketing into high gear!  Starting today, with the right marketing planning, preparation and execution, you can get customers to engage and shop at your store this holiday season. Today we highlight some quick (but critical) things to consider in your Holiday Marketing Planning:

1.       What is your marketing message? – As you organize, prepare and integrate the content and timing for all marketing materials (e.g. email, blogs, newspapers and postcards) to be sent between Thanksgiving and Christmas,, make sure you know what your key messages are and why they are important to your customers during this time of year.

       In order to deliver the messages effectively, plan on sending a minimum of one email per week during this busy time as a way to stay 'top of mind' with your customers. Notify them of your in-store events, the specific holiday products you are carrying, any extended store hours and highlight (with pictures/videos) the wonderful holiday displays you have set up.

2.       How will you use Social Media to engage your customers this holiday season?  In addition to your traditional marketing efforts, you must plan daily social media posts (e.g. Facebook, Twitter and Blogs) in concert with your store marketing activities. Social media will build engagement, provoke brand evangelists, and instill customer loyalty if utilized well.

3.       What type of In-store Events will draw customers to your store?  - The best time of year to engage your customers is during the holiday season. Work with your staff now to determine what type of in-store events you plan to host in November and December.  These in-store events should generate shopper excitement and lead to increased brand awareness and sales; plan to have one per week between Thanksgiving and Christmas. (Don’t forget to coordinate dates with Reps well in advance to secure primary dates go to your store!)  Some idea include - Vendor Trunk Shows, VIP customer events, specialty category events—cooking classes, collectors events (specific holiday collectibles) 

A well thought out marketing calendar will help to insure you meet your sales goals and that you highlight the merchandise you have brought in exclusively for the holiday season. Don’t leave these details to the last minute- or you may lose out on sales!  Need more help with marketing ideas? Contact CBCG today. lynn@cbc-group.net.