By: James @Blog2Market Mello With the holiday season chiming in keeping your customers satisfied is no easy task. Below are 7 marketing strategies that will help differentiate your company during the holidays and drive your customers in. 12 Days of Christmas: Build a good product. There is nothing more competitive than a high quality and unique product that is useful to your customers. A good product strategy is turning an ordinary and simple idea into something beautiful and distinctive. Gartner analysts state that “Any new idea emerges within the context of established ideas. To gain attention amid well-known, well—understood ideas that have their subscribers, a new idea or approach needs a way to both differentiate itself and attract attention”. For example, Apple, one of the most celebrated successes in the tech industry, was not the first company to invent a computer. But their unique and inclusive design helped make a name for the Apple brand and ultimately became a superior product that appealed to their chosen target market.

Jingle Bells: Don’t speak industry jargon; speak the language of your customer.  To reach and create customers for your business, it only makes sense to communicate to them in their language. Although it may be very tempting to speak in industry jargon to sound knowledgeable and professional, most consumers won’t have a clue what you are trying to convey. For example, Apple doesn’t speak about their products in megabytes and gigahertz but instead uses phrases like edge to edge glass that makes it more visual and understandable to the average consumer. Frosty the Snowman: Build a loyal fan base.  Get your customers breathing and loving your products. What this means is to build a loyal fan base for your product so they begin to spread word about it. To build a loyal fan base, personalized interaction with your customers will be needed. This can be in the form of communicating with them on social media and participating in their conversations. By participating on social media, you are also gathering insights on what your targeted customers’ preferences are which makes it easier for you to cater your products to them to serve their needs. Joy to the World: Be strategic about how you price your products.  Often companies price their products just above their breakeven point so they can race to the bottom. Although that can be effective sometimes, your company might be missing out on lost margin. Evaluate the features of your product against industry standards and market competitiveness. Do you want to price it at a premium to convey your product is of high quality or do you want to price it a lower price to appeal to mainstream consumers. Critics complain that Apple’s system features are no different than other phones on the market. However with the premium attached to their products, it has enabled Apple to position their product as a luxury item. When products are priced at a premium, consumers “perceive” them as a higher quality product. Silent Night: Be Present and Active on Social Media.  It is important to make your company present on social media, be it Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram etc. Not only is it important to be present, it is also essential to be active. If your customers are posting and tweeting on your social media page, it is a nice gesture and customers will remember it if you respond back to them. Inevitable negative feedback also needs to be addressed well. Your social channels should be an opportunity to show your appreciation to your customers and how awesome you treat them. According to Gartner “Social media is the perfect format and forum for introducing (and continually reintroducing) yourself, your ideas and your offering to anybody and everybody. Your passion and excitement about your “crusade” can be communicated through incremental, additive, ongoing articles, blogs and tweets that build your presence and reputation”. Deck the Halls: Expose Transparency When your customers are aware of what’s happening behind the scenes, they are more likely to trust your brand and in turn provide repeat sales. For example, McDonald is infamously known for its unhealthy questionable food it serves to its customers. In response, McDonald Canada launched a Your Questions Campaign where they answer honestly anything anyone wanted to know about what goes in a McDonald burger. This move has provided their customers confidence and trust in continuing to consume their fast food. Merry Christmas: Make it an Experience. User experience of the product and service that your company is trying to provide shouldn’t end at the cash register. Every step leading to the actual use of the product should be pleasant; this includes unboxing or unwrapping the product. With the prevalence of social media, customers are filming videos on how they unpack their products. And with the holiday seasons just around the corner, there is no better way to bring in some of that holiday spirit into the packaging of your products. The holidays are the best time of the year for you to sell your products and increase awareness for your brand. Keep these 7 marketing strategies in mind when implementing your holiday marketing plans to increase sales and customers for your business.

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