Any pre-holiday period means increased consumer activity as everyone prepares and searches for gifts for themselves and their loved ones. As a result, brands have an opportunity to significantly increase profits, attract new customers and build loyalty with existing audiences. To do this, it is necessary to develop and implement the right marketing campaign. In this article, we’ll look at what works for e-commerce in the run-up to the winter holidays and how to create a real Christmas miracle for your customers.

Benefits and principles of New Year's campaigns

In all countries people usually prepare for the holidays in advance, although no one is immune to last-minute shopping due to busyness or forgetfulness. Consequently, shopping before Christmas and New Year’s is a faster process, and their decision-making is more influenced by emotions. Accordingly, a good promotion will stimulate demand and you will make a profit.

In addition, before the holidays, consumers themselves are waiting for deals, so they actively browse your pages on social networks, visit your website, and open emails.

In order for your New Year’s campaign to work accurately, you should keep the following principles and rules in mind as you create it:

– Analyze past results ahead of time. Look at what marketing activities were done last year and what the results were. Effective tools and methods can be adopted, while ineffective campaigns should not be repeated.

– Run promotions in a timely manner and don’t forget the principle of urgency. Plan offers for customers in advance and set a time limit to encourage them to buy immediately.

– Create a festive atmosphere and share the excitement of the New Year with your audience across all interaction channels. Some of your customers are regular visitors to your website, some subscribe to your brand on social networks, some open all your newsletters, and your job is to reach each and every one of them. So, plan your campaigns so that they touch all channels and complement each other harmoniously.

– Emphasize only positive emotions. Christmas and New Year is a time when people want a miracle and a fairy tale. At such a time you should not touch on serious topics when composing content, it is better to concentrate on lifehacks, games and jokes.

– Don’t forget personalization. It’s nice to make each customer feel special, so prepare personalized offers that are sure to appeal to them.

Components of New Year and Christmas campaigns

Holiday marketing should be multifaceted – nothing should be left out. Let’s take a look at the main components.

Design

It’s the first thing a user notices when they visit your website or social media pages, so the visual part should also create a festive mood. You can do this by adding themed elements to the page, such as decorating the logo, adding snowflakes to the page, and so on. The main thing is to keep the balance so that it does not become too flashy, so that the decorations do not interfere with the perception of the content.

Gift box is a neat way to decorate your store logo

Another option is to place a New Year’s banner on your website. It will attract attention and also inform visitors about special offers and encourage them to buy.

Banners can be used to create a complete slideshow that showcases multiple promotions

Content

This is perhaps the most important component of any marketing campaign, because the written texts, the messages contained in them and the correctly selected images determine whether the customer will be impressed by your brand, or whether they will use what you have to offer.

In addition to promotions and sales, you should add value to your visitors – inspire them, distract them, create a positive and festive mood, give good advice, etc. What you can use as useful content before the New Year and Christmas:

– Gift recommendations. Choosing gifts is one of the most difficult tasks before the holidays because you want them to be practical, beautiful and thoughtful. Make life easier for your customers by posting a selection guide on your blog or even creating a small survey, and based on the results, offer a selection of suitable options from your assortment.

– A checklist of important things to do. New Year’s Eve is always a hectic time and you may not remember something important until the last moment. Think about what your customers want to do at the end of the year, such as finding a Christmas tree, ordering gifts from your store, etc. Create a checklist with recommendations and post it on your blog, newsletter or social media.

– Useful recommendations. Decorating the house, festive dishes, secrets of getting rid of junk quickly, what to wear to a company New Year’s party – the theme depends on your business.

– Humor. For example, humorous horoscopes lift the spirits and add to the festive atmosphere.

A relevant article in the blog of an online store will never hurt

Another idea to increase engagement and brand loyalty is personalized stats, but you have to be careful. First, it will only work for loyal customers who buy from you regularly. Second, it’s better not to show the total amount spent in your store for the year: if it’s impressive, the customer might be shocked and reconsider their spending, and we don’t want that, do we? Therefore, it’s better to include something neutral in your personal statistics, such as favorite products, most interesting topics in your blog, etc.

It’s hard to imagine New Year’s marketing campaigns without themed newsletters. Mostly they are about discounts and sales, but blatantly promotional emails are likely to be spammed. Try to make your newsletters useful and interesting: add tips, a guide to choosing gifts, creative ideas, a selection of the best products for Christmas and New Year, etc. Of course, don’t forget to include discounts, promotions and special offers, but include them carefully. Also, remember that chains work best, not individual letters, so create a mailing plan in advance.

An excerpt from the holiday newsletter

Caring for customers

To make choosing gifts easier, you can create gender-, age-, and budget-based kits, Advent calendars, etc.

You can prepare a whole section with New Year's offers

In addition, you can offer customers:

  • Festive wrapping – not everyone likes to wrap gifts, so customers will appreciate this bonus;
  • A postcard – so you can write some nice words;
  • A gift with purchase – it can be free samples or inexpensive goods that are sitting in your warehouse (everyone wins – the customer gets a pleasant surprise and you make room for new arrivals).

Another idea for attracting attention and increasing engagement is themed entertainment. You can add simple games to your website or social media, develop a puzzle, organize a contest or giveaway. The simplest and most common option is to ask customers to take a photo with your product, tag it with the brand, post it on their page, and then hold a drawing for a prize among the participants. Quizzes, riddles and quests require more time to prepare, but are always a win-win: they engage users and bring them closer to your brand.

What if time is of the essence and you may not be able to deliver the items in a timely manner?

A great solution is to offer a digital gift certificate. First of all, it is a great gift for yourself and your loved ones, secondly, it does not force the customer to choose the goods right now, but allows you to think about it, thirdly, you do not miss any profit, because you get the money for the voucher immediately.

An offer from a jewelry store

Conclusion

Pre-Christmas and New Year marketing campaigns are an art in themselves, which can multiply profits and strengthen customer relations with a competent approach. Classic methods in e-commerce – seasonal discounts, time limitation of the campaign, bonus to the main product, limited thematic collections and so on. However, it is impossible to use only these methods. If you want to stand out from your competitors, build trust with your audience, evoke positive emotions, create a festive atmosphere with useful and interesting content, use appropriate jokes. During the pre-holiday season, competition is at its peak, so only a comprehensive approach will ensure high sales and a loyal audience.