Savvy e-commerce store owners know that the holiday season is one of the most crucial shopping times of the year. Shoppers are actively on the prowl for the best deals and gifts to celebrate the year’s festivities and the last thing you want is to miss out on this! No worries though–we’ve got you covered with some of the best holiday marketing tips to help your WooCommerce store stand out this bustling season.
In this guide, we’ll cover 7 creative marketing strategies you can implement to create a memorable holiday shopping experience for your valued customers. Along the way, we’ll also introduce you to powerful WooCommerce plugins to make setting these promotions up a breeze. Exciting, right?
So, let’s dive right in!
Why Do You Need A Holiday Marketing Strategy?
The holiday season spans multiple important shopping events of the year–it stretches out from Black Friday happening late November through the year’s end, including Cyber Monday and Christmas. For most store owners, this is a golden opportunity to drive sales. In fact, according to industry research, holiday sales account for at least 25% of annual revenue for small businesses, making this period a crucial time to hit your yearly sales goals.
Customer spending during this time also shows no signs of slowing down. In 2023 alone, holiday sales grew 3.8% compared to 2022, reaching a record-breaking $964.4 billion.
Planning ahead, along with a tailored marketing strategy can help you maximize this crucial time period. By crafting timely campaigns that connect with your target audience and tap into the spirit of the season, you can build excitement, boost sales, and stand out. This is what can set your business up for success in the coming year and beyond!
7 Best Holiday Marketing Tips And Strategies
Now that we understand how important the holiday season is for business owners, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and dive into the action part! With the right holiday marketing tips and strategies, you can make your store the go-to destination for holiday shoppers.
Here are some effective marketing strategies you can implement to capture the spirit of the season:
1. Create a holiday gift guide
We’ve all been there at some point in our holiday gifting journey–with so many options and so little time, which should we buy? As a business owner, you can help alleviate this stress for your customers by creating a holiday gift guide! It’s also a smart way to showcase your products and bring them to the forefront of shopper’s choices.
To make choosing even easier for your customers, you can create relevant product categories that match their gifting needs. For example, you can curate a list of “Holiday Gifts For Him”, “Top Presents For Kids”, or “Budget Gifts Under $50.” Depending on your niche, the possibilities are endless.
You can make your offers even more relevant by providing discounts or bundling options–let’s discuss that next!
2. Bundle products for holiday gifting
After curating your holiday gift guide, you can take a step further by offering product bundles. Bundles are an excellent way to give your customers more value–all while helping you increase average order values and move inventory.
There are a ton of ways you can infuse creativity into this and capture your customers’ attention, depending on the products you offer. For example, you can:
- Create complementary products: Offering products that go well together? Why not make an exclusive holiday starter pack or essentials kit? This approach works well across several industries–from “skincare essentials” to “baking starter packs.”
- Offer “build your own” bundles: You can gamify the customer experience and make holiday shopping more exciting by allowing shoppers to personalize their bundles. For example, you can allow customers to choose any three items from a curated selection and get them at a special discounted price.
- Limited-time holiday bundle: Evoke a sense of exclusivity and urgency by offering a limited-time holiday bundle. Offering products as a special “holiday-only” deal can tap into customer FOMO and excitement, knowing it’s offered only for a limited period.
Shoppers love getting the most out of their money, and these options provide a greater sense of value. Thoughtful, well-priced holiday bundles can make holiday shopping more convenient and enjoyable. Another way to create enticing offers is by implementing our next holiday marketing tip!
3. Set up Buy One Get One (BOGO) promotions
Any list of holiday marketing tips can’t leave this one out. Like product bundles, Buy One Get One deals elevate the perceived value of each purchase. Shoppers feel like they’re getting more while paying less.
The best part? These promotions are incredibly flexible! Depending on your business goals, you can craft classic Buy One Get One offers, offer the second item at a discount, or set up “Buy Two, Get One” deals. You can also choose to offer the deal across your store or target specific products or categories.
These promotions are easy to set up and implement in WooCommerce using plugins like Advanced Coupons. With this plugin, you can easily set up BOGO deals, and allow them to be auto-applied at checkout or trigger only during specific conditions, like when a particular product is in the cart.
This plugin also allows you to run scheduled coupon promotions, which is handy when you want your deal to activate only during specific holiday shopping periods.
4. Send out seasonal emails
Email marketing is powerful because it gives you a direct and personal way to communicate with your customers. During a bustling and competitive sales season, it can be your key to capture shoppers’ attention and keep your brand top of mind. Run festive email marketing campaigns to announce special promotions, inform customers of exclusive offers, and remind them of upcoming events.
You can enhance the value of your emails by providing exclusive offers for your subscribers. For example, you add URL coupons to your emails that automatically add a discount when customers click the link. This makes claiming discounts more seamless! They’re also amazing to use in SMS marketing, so let’s dive into that next.
5. Leverage SMS marketing
According to industry insights, 76% of US adults buy things online using their smartphones. SMS marketing is one of the most powerful ways you can tap into this opportunity. Like email marketing, it provides a direct way to reach customers instantly. Well-timed SMS messages can help you cut through the noise and deliver exclusive promotions directly to shoppers.
This is another channel where URL coupons can add more value. By including URL coupon links in your SMS messages, you can make it easier for your customers to claim their discounts in one click, without them needing to remember a code.
6. Collaborate with influencers
Investing in influencer marketing is another powerful way you can build brand awareness and engage customers during the bustling holiday season. Influencers often have a dedicated following base that values their recommendations. In fact, according to industry research, 69% of consumers trust influencers over information coming directly from a brand.
By collaborating with influencers in your niche, you can expand your reach and introduce your brand to relevant audiences. Some ways influencers can drive engagement for your brand include product reviews, unboxing videos, or exclusive discount codes for their followers.
7. Don’t forget your loyal shoppers
The holiday season presents a golden opportunity to reach new audiences, but it’s equally important to show your appreciation to your loyal shoppers. Running a loyalty program is a great strategy throughout the year, but you can make it even more compelling on special occasions. Consider giving your most loyal shoppers exclusive perks during the festive season, such as early access to sales or free gifts along with their purchases.
Another smart way to reward loyal shoppers is by granting extra points when they shop on special days. Plugins like Advanced Coupons’ Loyalty Program allow you to specify certain dates and times when participating customers can earn extra points:
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you plan a holiday marketing campaign?
Begin by identifying your goals–do you want to increase sales, boost average order values, or improve your brand awareness? After setting goals and identifying key metrics to track, decide on what type of promotions to run to achieve these goals.
Some of the most common holiday marketing tips and strategies include offering product bundles, running limited-time sales, and providing exclusive discounts for loyal customers. Communicating these offers through marketing channels like email, social media, and blog posts is just as crucial. Having a content calendar can also help–this outlines when your content and campaigns will run, keeping you on track and ensuring you don’t miss out on important dates.
Plugins like Advanced Coupons allow you to set up scheduled coupon promotions, BOGO deals, URL coupons, and loyalty programs to execute your holiday marketing campaign.
What is the best form of marketing for the holiday?
Leveraging a mix and match of marketing channels is typically the best way to go. Customers nowadays expect an omnichannel experience, meaning they want to interact with brands seamlessly across platforms. Depending on where your audience is, you can leverage social media, email marketing, and SMS to maximize reach. Likewise, consider collaborating with influencers that represent your brand values–this approach helps add an authentic touch to your campaign, allowing you to tap relevant markets within your niche.
How can I increase sales after the holidays?
You can encourage repeat purchases and keep customers coming back by crafting a loyalty program that rewards customers for their engagement with your business. A well-designed loyalty program grants enticing rewards, such as exclusive discounts or points that can be redeemed for perks. This encourages customers to engage with your business long after the holiday season ends.
Additionally, you can run re-engagement campaigns through email and social media channels to inform past customers about new products or post-holiday promotions. The key is staying connected–whether through personalized emails, reminders, or timely recommendations based on past purchases.
Conclusion
There’s no better time to attract customers and create a memorable shopping experience than during the holiday season. Fortunately, e-commerce store owners like you can leverage key holiday marketing tips and strategies to stand out in this busy period. In this comprehensive holiday marketing guide, we’ve covered seven key strategies to help you set your store up for success:
- Create a holiday gift guide
- Bundle products for holiday gifting
- Set up BOGO deals
- Send out seasonal emails
- Leverage SMS marketing
- Collaborate with influencers
- Don’t forget about your loyal shoppers
Throughout this article, we also introduced you to Advanced Coupons. This powerful plugin makes setting up coupon promotions in WooCommerce a breeze, allowing you to craft enticing BOGO deals, shipping discounts, URL coupons and so much more!
Which of these strategies are you most excited to try? Let us know in the comments.
Wishing you a successful holiday season ahead!
