Seasonal marketing isn’t just about having a yearly Christmas sale and draping ‘spooky’ Halloween cobwebs all over your website in October. For most companies, peaks and troughs throughout the year are common. So how can you leverage seasonality to ensure that your business succeeds in 2021? Whether you’re a bricks and mortar store or an online-only business, there is so much you can do.
What is seasonal marketing?
Seasonal marketing is the process of promoting products or services at certain times of the year. It doesn’t have to relate to an official day like Mother’s Day – it can just involve adjusting your digital campaigns to capitalise on the times of the year that your customers value.
Is seasonal marketing important?
Staying relevant when creating digital marketing campaigns can give you a genuine edge over your competitors, especially for e-commerce brands. While a lot of businesses overlook seasonal marketing due to the extra effort involved, it can really pay off when done well.
Australia’s 2020 festive season was the biggest on record, with shoppers spending more than $55 billion on retail throughout the second half of November and all of December – up 11% from 2019.
How can you implement seasonal marketing?
Whether you’re selling a product or a service, online or in person, there will be times of the year when you experience noticeable spikes in traffic and sales. Examining your lead generation and profits from last year can give you a really good idea of what this year might look like – and how you can capitalise on specific seasons to increase your even profits further.
Eye-off your competition
Another way of figuring out what will work is to analyse what your competitors did last year and how much engagement they got. Of course, no one likes a copycat, but building on what others have done before you to create something even better can a good place to start. Looking outside of your niche, at organisations that you admire can also give you a whole heap of ideas that help you stand out from the crowd.
Plan ahead
At 3PM, we love a well-planned digital marketing strategy and it’s never a good idea to wait until the last minute to implement your seasonal marketing ideas. Once you’ve decided which seasons, events, or days resonate with your customers – start planning. Are you going to run a special offer? What social media channels are best to promote your campaign? How will you ensure high return on investment [ROI]?
Establish goals
Figuring out exactly what you want out of your seasonal marketing strategy is the best way to achieve tangible results. It has to be more than adding decorative love-hearts onto your website in February and crossing your fingers for more sales. What do you want and how will you get it?
Do you want to sell last year’s leftover stock or are you hoping to increase your brand visibility? Are you after brand new leads or just hoping nurture existing customers in your sales funnel? Without a plan of attack, it’ll be hard to measure your seasonal marketing success.
Need a helping hand?
Nailing seasonal campaigns in 2021 could be the key to your best year yet. Consumer purchasing habits can change massively based on seasons, events, and holidays. At 3PM, we know that taking this into account can give you a real head start when it comes to levelling up your digital marketing strategy.
Figuring out buyer behaviours and using your findings to create an effective plan of action can be time-consuming and often confusing. Need a helping hand or an experienced set of eyes? 3PM can help you figure out what to do and how to do it when it comes to all aspects of digital marketing.
