How to plan for holiday marketing

If you are a business owner, you may spend a great deal of time planning, for the holiday season, however, there are many other holidays throughout the year, that you should put a marketing plan, together for. Depending on the products and services, your company offers, there may be different holiday, throughout the year, that will affect how you market. You should view these holidays as an opportune time to reach out to both potential customers and those you already have. Here is what you need to know about how to plan for holiday marketing-

• Have a plan-The key to successful marketing is having a plan, for what you are going to do. You want to get out a year calendar and look at all of the holidays that may affect how you market. You want to make sure that you are planning well in advance, so that you are not left throwing your marketing strategy together, at the last minute. You should keep in mind that both the economy and the needs of your customers, can affect your marketing strategy. It can be helpful to make sure that you have a cash reserve set aside to use, for holiday marketing, in case you need to change your strategy at the last minute.
• Determine you operating hours-Many businesses simply close down on a holiday, assuming that there will not be enough traffic to justify staying open. It is important to look at historical data, to determine if you should stay open on any particular holiday. While closing on certain holidays can be considerate, for your employees, if you are missing a chance to make some good revenue, you may want to reconsider. Once you know how much business you will attract on any holiday, you can then determine if you need a full staff, or if holiday hours should be different, from your regular operating hours.
• Come up with a slogan-The holidays can be a great time to get creative with your marketing. Let your imagination run wild and even involve your staff in coming up with a catchphrase that will help bring customers in. Keep in mind that with creative marketing, you don't have to drastically reduce prices, just make it interesting enough so that your customers will want to come and check out what you are doing on that holiday.
• Don't have a big sale-Many business owners think that they must have a large sale in order to get customers to come in, on a holiday. However, you should keep in mind that just because you have more customers in, doesn't mean that you will make more money. Sales can be expensive, so if you want an offer to bring in customers, you may be better off, offering a few key products at a discount. Once customers are in they can check out everything else that you offer as well.
• Communicate with your customers-How can you expect customers to know that you are open on any particular holiday, if you don't communicate that to them. You need to make sure that your holiday marketing efforts include letting your customers know well in advance, what you will be offering on a holiday. This way your customers can plan to be a part of your holiday marketing. Failing to let customers know and just expecting them to show up as usual, negates the other efforts you have made to market, on a holiday. There is no need to send out an expensive mailer. Banners on your website, emails, and even a notice in your business blog, will let your customers know that you will be around to help them on an upcoming holiday.