Tips for Retailers Organizing their Christmas Marketing in October

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65 Days to Christmas and counting down!

Well the countdown to Christmas has begun!   I hear what you are thinking... it can't be coming that soon can it?? As I am writing this blog post, its is 65 days until Christmas!  So what does this mean for business? If your business is retail based, it mean's that now is the ideal time to start preparation & marketing for those much wanted Christmas Sales.  Instead of making all of your sales in the week prior to Christmas, spread your income over the next coming months by using savvy campaigns to encourage buyers to purchase early. These tips are for physical brick & mortar stores as well as on-line stores.

Christmas Marketing for Retail Businesses does not have to be expensive by any means.  Here are some of our top tips to make sure you are on track and ready for the Christmas Rush:

1. Ensure Your Email Database of Clients is up-to date.  Download your customers details from your online sales & update your email database if you have not done so recently.  If you have a physical store, you can start a simple  in-store clipboard list now and entice shoppers to sign up by offering email specials that can't be found in-store.  (More on Starting an Email Database Here)
2. Update Your Online Stores.  Ensuring your business e-commerce store is up to date is imperative at all times, but especially leading up to Christmas.  Remove any sold-out products from your online store.  Ensure all prices are current and images are easy to view and portray the product you are selling clearly.   (Many distributors will be more than happy to supply stock images for you to use for your marketing), if not make sure your photos are crisp, clear and aesthetically pleasing. Review the product names for the season. Ensure the items you add to your online store are easy to post in the mail.  Some bulky and breakable items may not be suitable for standard postage options.  (More on on-line store options here)
3. Check on your postage costs.  It is good planning to check on current postage costs for your on-line store, ensure they are correct as per current Australia Post or your chosen Courier's prices. Australia Post can supply you with a list of baggage weights and sizes Australia wide, making a set price for each item much easier for the seller, this can also be found online (view Australia Post Satchel Costs Here).
4. Offer an incentive.  Buyers love an incentive to purchase either online or instore.  Why not offer something to make the deal sweeter?  Think about what other in-store items you could add as a bonus when purchasing over a certain amount, add in free gift wrapping, free Christmas gift cards or even free postage when a certain order amount is reached through an online purchase.  The options are endless, but it will keep your customers happy and entice them to buy more.
5. Pre-Christmas VIP Events.  If you have a retail store, consider inviting your loyal customers, their friends and those on your e-mail database list to a pre-Christmas VIP Event, held possibly in an evening or on a day when your store is not usually open. Offer drinks and light nibblies and the opportunity to view new products while mingling with friends.  An event like this needs to be pre-planned in advance and the host (the business owner) needs a set schedule of the products he or she intends on displaying.  Offer a discount or bonus gifts for those purchasing over a set amount on the night.  Ensure you have enough staff on hand to handle purchases quickly and that you limit your guest numbers to suit the size of your store and plan it thoroughly. (see our 6 top tips on planning a business event here)
6. Send Regular Emails - but don't annoy your customers!  Sending fortnightly or weekly emails displaying beautiful images and prices of items that you have in-store is a great way to keep your clients updated with items you have in-store leading up to Christmas.  Choose only a few items to display in the email, ensuring you pick from a wide variety and display different things in the emails at all times, also with different price ranges to suit all budgets.  Ensure links to your on-line store are intact and working to take advantage of those wanting to buy online.  Again, offer an incentive for those purchasing either in-store or online. Do not get carried away and send multiple emails a week - this will become annoying and you are likely to get more un-subscribes than sales.
7. Organize your Products.  Ensure your stock is organized neatly and labeled/priced accordingly so staff can find things easily for customers or when packing on-line orders.  Ensure that your stock database is kept up to date - Point of Sale Systems will take the stress out this option if kept updated.
8. Move Old Stock.  Take advantage of this busy time and use it to move non-perishable "old stock" at discounted prices.  Every store has items that haven't been as popular and have been cluttering your store shelves - now is the time to discount those items and sell them as pre-Christmas specials.  Look into your original purchase costs and offer a substantial discount from your current price on the item.  Ensure that you market the products features to gain the sale. This type of special is a perfect item to add to your email send-outs and to the specials page on your online store.
9. Utilize Social Media Pages.  Ensure that all photo album images are also up-to-date.  Alternatively move items into a new album and delete the old ones.  Ensure that prices and full descriptions of items are always added, along with links of where to purchase online or in-store locations. Make it as easy as possible for customers to purchase through social media with direct links to items.  Plan regular up-dates for followers using images from current items in-store and make gift suggestions for different age-categories or people with different interests. Engage  your followers and always thank them for their feedback. If this is over-whelming at this busy time, hire us to help manage your page.
10. Ask for help if required.  Consider hiring extra staff or external help to ensure everything runs smoothly and you aren't overwhelmed leading up to the busy Christmas period.  Blue Bird Internet Marketing can also help you with any of the above mentioned options & can also recommend other local experts to help with anything you need, including graphic design work.

By being organized in advance, the "Christmas Shopping Rush" can last a lot longer for your business. Plan ahead and reap the benefits. All of the above suggestions are relatively free or in-expensive to the business owner, they just require a little time to organize them.  Blue Bird Internet Marketing can help businesses with all of the above suggestions for those finding it hard to manage their long list to do at this busy time. Contact us today for a free quote.

Happy Christmas Marketing!

Judi Gray
Blue Bird Internet Marketing