Take Advantage of Holidays
June 19, 2009 by Audrey Kerwood
Filed under Marketing
Not just the big ones… all holidays.
I get a lot of sales newsletters around the major holidays – Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc – but not nearly as many around the smaller holidays like Father’s Day, Labor Day, and others of that sort. Why? I honestly don’t know.
Perhaps some storeowners forget about these holidays until they’re upon them. Maybe they don’t think they are big enough to warrant a sale. Or maybe they don’t think their products apply to what’s being celebrated.
Whatever the reason, it’s a bad call. If BestBuy can have a Valentine’s Day sale (and they do) you can too, no matter what you sell. Your products DO NOT have to be related to the season for you to celebrate it with a sale.
Some stores will do better than others during different holidays, that’s just logic, and my Swords For Your Sweetheart sale newsletter might not make me a million dollars but I guarantee I will make me more than if I didn’t send it out.
Then again your subscribers might love the idea. I had a couple emails about my Valentine’s Day sale last year saying the idea never would have occurred to them but the sword was a big hit.
Many people have a tendency to forget the smaller holidays which is another good reason to promote these sales. You remind them with a newsletter geared toward the upcoming holiday and pack it with discounts and you give them an easy solution to the problem of finding a gift. Offer your customers the path of least resistance and your sales will be successful.
So keep on top of your calendar. Know what holiday is coming and start promoting sales ahead of time. Be sure to send out your newsletters early enough so your customers won’t have to worry about their products arriving late. Be creative in what you offer and try to tie into the season as much as possible. Your customers will thank you with orders.
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This post makes absolute sense.Your articles always make sense. Implemented your opt-in list tweaks and its boosted sales.I try and give a reason behind every discount offer we promote but I was wondering how many times is okay to promote one’s item prior to a holiday event.
Hi Maurice,
I don't think there is necessarily a hard and fast number I can give you. It depends on what your subscribers like or feel is too much. For a holiday like Father's Day, I'll promote my sale twice – start two weeks early and promote once a week – for a big one like Christmas, I'll promote my sale more like 10-15 times depending how the days fall. I'll send a couple newsletters a week – one about the whole store (store wide sale) and one focused on a specific product or product line (featured sale). I also send out shipping cut off reminders & you only have so many days left reminders – each of these contains sales promotions as well.
That's just how I do it though, your products and customers could be totally different from mine and different holidays or styles of promotion may work better for you. The best way to get a good sense is to test, and since you're dealing with your subscriber list you can ask for feedback.