Fun and festive Christmas promotion ideas are a surefire way to attract new customers, whether you’re in retail or you run another type of business. But when every company is trying to snatch a piece of the holiday pie, you can’t just wait for new customers to find you. You need to develop a plan that will make your best retail promotion ideas come to life.
As consumers kick off their Christmas shopping earlier this year, it’s important to get your promotions to get new customers working at the same time.
Here are six promotion ideas for the Christmas shopping season to help you attract new clients and show appreciation to your regulars.
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1. Target the need
Your first task is to figure out where the need will be.
Do you own a clothing store? Think of all the comfortable holiday pyjamas shoppers will crave this year as stay-at-home orders continue. Are you a photographer? Target all those families scrambling for a last-minute holiday card with a socially distant photo shoot.
Promotion ideas that target a specific use case will go much further than a more general holiday promotion. A recent article by IAB states that about 40 percent of people on Pinterest will be budgeting this year, and businesses will need to inspire their customers and meet them where they are at economically.
Creating some holiday advertising ideas that also recognise both the current social and financial climates will go a long way to satisfying your customers’ needs this season.
2. Target your audience
Think about who is more likely to need your services these days: a business, or individual clients?
If you’re trying to sell more plants at your nursery, you may want to offer corporate discounts and delivery for potted plants. If you’re trying to get new salon customers, it probably makes more sense to direct your festive season marketing toward individual clients who haven’t been able to get a haircut for months.
You may even consider running different retail Christmas promotions for both businesses and individual clients, depending on what you sell.
3. Spread the cheer
Promotion ideas need to go well beyond your store window. Make sure to spice up your online store, email marketing campaigns, social media accounts, and mail drops with thematic designs to let your clients know about your Christmas season promotions.
As some shoppers cut back on going to physical stores, executing your Christmas promotion ideas everywhere you sell will help you get the word out effectively.
4. Make yourself giftable
Break out that ribbon. Your gift baskets and gift cards should look good enough to put under a tree or stuff into a stocking. This is even more crucial this year because people won’t be able to have as many in-person Christmas celebrations. Festive-looking gifts will help make virtual celebrations feel more like a typical holiday.
5. Bring people together (virtually)
Togetherness, even when we’re apart, is a big theme this year. Think about local business promotion ideas that bring people together in a safe way. You may choose to donate to charitable organisations, like a toy drive or food bank, and invite your clients to participate.
Or you could talk to adjacent businesses and see if they would be interested in hosting a socially distant outdoor sale to help attract new customers. Partnering with a nearby business can help drum up interest and help reduce your total cost, as you’ll be splitting the cost with your business partner.
6. Give first
If it makes sense for your business, think of ways you can build on your existing customer relationships. These retail Christmas season promotions could be in the form of little extras when they purchase a service, small toys or treats for customers with kids, or raffle-style giveaways.
The Christmas season is a time when many businesses roll out promotion ideas that include sales, so customers are used to basing their shopping choices on special deals. This year, starting early and getting creative with your Christmas marketing ideas will get people’s attention exactly when they’re ready to buy.