The holiday season requires special preparation on the part of business owners and shoppers alike. While your clients are rushing around trying to find the perfect gift for their husband, mother, or Aunt Susan, you’re focused on creating appropriate and helpful content. Consumers will soon be rushing around trying to purchase the perfect gift for everyone on their list, and you want to make it easy for them to select your business as they buy. Here’s how to make sure you’re the go-to spot for that perfect holiday purchase:
Build up holiday momentum
While a sense of anticipation will develop on its own in the weeks leading up to the holidays, you want to make sure that your content marketing strategy follows suit. You should map out the time leading up to the holiday season, and should create a plan for how you will build the right kind of excitement on your website and social media pages. Many business owners find that physically writing out a schedule is an effective tool. This allows them to create content that draws attention to important days like Small Business Saturday or Black Friday. If you’re just winging your content the day of, you might overlook an important opportunity to drive customers into your store.
Know what they really want
In order to encourage your clients to drop in as they’re tackling their holiday shopping lists, you have to know what they’re looking for. You may assume that they’re in search of Product X, when it’s really all about Product Y this year. In order to get a better feel for how you can meet your clientele’s needs, consider conducting a customer feedback survey now. When you do this before the holiday rush starts, you can use the information you gather as people begin to feel the pressure to snag the perfect gift. When you know exactly what it is that your customers are hoping to buy from you, it makes it easier to target your marketing efforts accordingly.
Be more than a sales pitch
By now, we know that clients feel loyal to companies that provide them with useful information instead of just a sales pitch. This concept is even more important to bear in mind as people become stressed about the holidays (and the shopping that goes with them). If you’re going to make a lasting impression on your client base, you’re going to have to do more than just exclaim, “BUY ONE GET ONE HALF OFF. STOP IN TODAY.” While some degree of self-promotion is required, make sure that most of your Web content and social media updates are filled with useful information that can benefit clients as the holidays approach.
Deliver on what you promised
If you entice people to join your e-mail list with the promise of deep discounts, you need to deliver on this promise. If it becomes clear that your e-mail newsletter is filled with nothing substantial, people won’t hesitate to hit “unsubscribe.” But when they open their e-mail to find that 20 percent off coupon they were hoping to score, they’ll continue reading your messages.
When you’re considering your clients’ needs as you craft your content marketing this holiday season, you’ll be the authority and the resource they come to depend on.
The team at Grammar Chic specializes in a variety of professional writing and editing services. For more information about how we can help you, visit www.grammarchic.net or call 803-831-7444. We also invite you to follow us on Twitter @GrammarChicInc for the latest in writing and editing tips and to give a “like” to our Facebook page. Text GRAMMARCHIC to 22828 for a special offer.
The Red Ink 