The holidays are quickly approaching, and the holiday season means big business for e-commerce companies. While big box stores are bound to get an influx in sales, the holiday season is also a great opportunity for small businesses to shine. Shoppers are always on the hunt for the best deals, the quickest and cheapest shipping, and unique products to give away as gifts. Since November is when people begin to explore and evaluate their options, it’s a great time to focus on your marketing plan. Here are some tips for the holiday season.
Set SMART goals
After you take the time to brainstorm some ideas, it’s time for you to set some business goals. Since goal setting is an important part of launching a successful marketing campaign, we recommend that you try using the SMART goals formula—an acronym that offers a framework to develop a path to success.
What does SMART mean?
- Specific: Focus on one area or task
- Measurable: Assign a number or percentage to your task to measure progress
- Attainable: Can you reasonably achieve your goal?
- Relevant: Can you benefit from achieving this goal?
- Time-sensitive: Can you create a deadline and ensure that you hold yourself accountable?
When creating goals, it’s important that you focus on one area at a time. For example, if you want to increase traffic this holiday season, you will want to invest in digital marketing services that directly correlate to an influx in traffic. Next, once you pick your goal, make sure it’s something that you can measure. You could say, “I want to increase my traffic by 10% over the holidays” which is something that you can track through Google Analytics. Not only do you want to ensure the said goal is measurable, but it also needs to be attainable. The holiday season has already started and for most people, ends by January 1. Is it attainable for you to increase traffic by 10%? Possibly 5% would be a better benchmark. With a specific, measurable, and attainable goal, you need to test its relevance. Will a 5% increase in traffic have a positive impact on your business? It absolutely will! Finally, you need to make sure that your goal is time-sensitive. Set your deadline. You have at least six weeks onwards to get the job done and keep yourself motivated.
Be sure to define your target audience
When speaking with a specific person, we naturally adjust what we say and how we say it. Your marketing should be the same.
Here are some questions to ask yourself when marketing to your target audience:
- How well do you know your customers?
- What makes them buy specifically from your business?
- What are your customers thinking when they begin the holiday shopping journey?
Knowing your audience is an essential part of creating marketing materials that will appeal to them.
Don’t forget to tell your story
Customers join a retailer’s business journey at varied stages, so the holiday season is a great time to reintroduce yourself.
Your story could include:
- How you got started
- Your brand’s history
- Customer success stories
- Advice on products or services
Hi, we’re Trek Marketing! We hope that all of the above holiday season digital marketing tips allow you to better connect with your audience in a successful and impactful way.
Which tip(s) have you added to your radar for the holiday season? Drop a comment below.
Alex Wilks has been working as a copywriter and digital marketing strategist since 2018, with added specialties in social media and email marketing. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Communication, she is a natural content writer with the ability to connect well with her target audience.
I love this article, very informative, and thanks for sharing it!