As the holiday season approaches, you’ll want to tailor your content marketing efforts accordingly. People are ready to buy gifts for their friends and family members, and can use some extra guidance as they get ready to do so. In order to ensure that your business thrives this holiday season and that your merchandise is sitting under someone’s Christmas tree, keep these consumer trends in mind:
Purchasers want feedback
Consumers are relying more and more on reviews from other customers prior to making a purchase. This means that Yelp, Facebook, Twitter, and other sites can play a big role in whether you land that new business or not. While you cannot totally control what is said about your business on Yelp, you want to be proactive about establishing yourself online. Instead of letting others completely control the conversation about you, get active on Twitter and Facebook. This allows you to show off your brand’s unique personality, drawing customers in. It helps if your online reviews are strong, but ensuring that a customer can find plenty of information about your business on their own is essential.
Your clients are going mobile
While you want to be sure that your social media profiles are updated regularly and that your website looks sharp, don’t neglect your mobile efforts. Customers are becoming increasingly dependent on their smartphones, particularly when it comes time to make a purchasing decision. If a client can’t get the information they need by going to your company’s site on their phone, they’re going elsewhere. Make sure that your site is optimized for phones in order to prevent this from happening.
E-mail still counts
New studies show that e-mail newsletters are still a powerful way to reach a client base. While you should certainly pay attention to the way you’re interacting with purchasers on social media, don’t underestimate the power of e-mail when it comes to converting sales. Use the two in tandem in order to earn new business and power your brand through the holiday shopping season.
As you keep these trends in mind, consider these tips to continue converting leads into sales:
Get involved in the big shopping days
Everyone knows about Black Friday, but have you heard of Cyber Monday (December 2nd) and Small Business Saturday (November 30th)? Your company should be actively involved in these days, and should give consumers a reason to make a purchase as they get ready to spend anyway.
Create deals that work for you
We all know that shoppers are looking for deals around the holiday season. They want to get a great gift for someone they love, without breaking the bank to do so. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to offer all items for half off in order to draw customers in, but you should find a way to offer an incentive to buy that still works for you. Perhaps if someone brings a friend in and they both purchase an item, they get a discount. There are plenty of ways to offer a deal without hurting your business’s bottom line.
The holidays are a spend-happy time, so make sure that your brand is giving purchasers a reason to stop in (or head to your website) when it’s time to buy a gift.
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Amanda E. Clark founded Grammar Chic in 2008. She is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and holds degrees in Journalism, Political Science, and English. She launched Grammar Chic after freelancing for several years while simultaneously leading marketing and advertising initiatives for several Fortune 500 companies.