I can’t believe it, Christmas is just around the corner. We’re inside the three month mark and even though David Jones has had decorations out for over two months, I just can’t quite believe we’re here already.
For some businesses, mainly retail, Christmas means busy busy busy. For others, like professional services, it means it’s time for a bit of a slow break. Which category do you fall into? Guess what? I’m not really fussed - because there’s huge benefits to doing Christmas Marketing properly for any business!
Proper Christmas Marketing is planned well in advance and is themed. What it is not, is a rushed emailer sent out at 4pm on Christmas Eve.
If you’re a business who is busy, it’s so beneficial to get ahead and set up your Christmas Marketing early because it means it all happens seamlessly while you get busy. And, if you do the right things, it can also increase your Christmas Sales.
If you’re a business who is quiet, it’s beneficial to do Christmas Marketing because it gives you a point of non-sales driven contact. A chance to reconnect and do engage clients in a positive way outside of business transactions.
So regardless of which business you fall under, here’s what should be on your radar!
Decide your Christmas Theme
This is the image, the sentiment, the greeting that you want to use consistently across all marketing. Are you using a Santa Hat and Merry Christmas? Are you using a branded present icon and Happy Holidays? This is the first step, because once you’ve decided this, the rest is easy!
Custom Christmas Cards
If you don’t have a big Christmas Card list, buying a few stylish ones from the store is perfect. If it’s any more than 50, custom Christmas Cards are the way to go. These need to be ordered by the end of October because printers are busy and they still need to be written and addresses! So start planning the design and getting quotes in October. I recommend sending Christmas Cards to all clients, referrers, business supporters, local businesses around yours and anyone else you feel is of significance.
Christmas Gifts
Clients gifts are typically a tricky area. How much do you spend per client? I have a rule of thumb, 5% of the total that every client has spent. It’s best to organise your clients gifts at the beginning of November (or at least plan them!) so they can be delivered with a Christmas card in the second week of December.
Christmas Event
Christmas events like a VIP shopping night, a meet and greet, Christmas drinks or a family day are a great way to bring in last minute sales or engage with your clients. Plan any transaction based events for late November so potential shoppers can get in early and if you’re planning on a casual event, early December is fine. Just be wary of school holidays and end of year school events. make sure you plan for it at the end of October and get invitations out more than three weeks in advance - you want to get in early as there’s lots on in the Christmas lead up!
Christmas Footer
Set up your Christmas email footer for all staff emails. This should be easy as you’ve already decided on the theme! A jpg works well and can easily be copied and pasted into emails. It’s appropriate to put it up anytime after 1 December. Make sure you include you office closing hours somewhere, too. This positions your brand nicely.
Christmas Emailer
Regardless of whether people have received a personalised Christmas card, it’s important to reach out to your entire network. This gives you a chance to wish them well, celebrate and advertise the successes throughout the year, remind them of any office opening and closing dates and reestablish connection - which is highly valuable if you haven’t in some time. Send it two days before your office closes down for the year so any replies can be responded to.
Christmas Social Media Posts
Christmas gives us a chance to be creative, fun and festive with our social media posts. Take your Christmas theme and design a template in Canva then fill it with fun content. Some great ideas are to run a 12 days of Christmas promotion that could give people a discount or special offer for purchases on that day, celebrate a client each day or share valuable Christmas ‘to-dos’. Don’t forget to schedule a Merry Christmas message nice and early on Christmas Day too.
Remember, if you get in now and plan ahead things will run smoothly and you'll make the most of the opportunities ahead!