OH! OH! OH! Digital marketing during Christmas and holidays

Marketing is an activity strongly influenced by the seasons and external events and must always include planning based on the times of the year, such as christmas and holidays. With the beginning of November we entered one of the most critical periods for online marketing: the fateful “Q4”, with the months of holidays and sales.

Every year, autumn accelerates the pace of retail and B2B companies with a sequence of deadlines: Black Friday, Cyber Monday and of course Christmas and New Year’s. The start of a new year with its load of designing and planning is also approaching. Breathtaking!

What is happening this year, in particular?

We share with you some food for thought and good practices for the 2022 Christmas season, dedicated to both the retail and B2B world, to help you keep up the pace of this challenging period.

If you have a retail business:

Contrary to outside temperatures, for much of the retail world, this is the hottest time of the year: Christmas shopping already started in September, with an increase in user searches and online purchases.

In particular this year, according to a recent research by Google and Ipsos, Christmas shopping will be influenced by a combination of quality and price. Research shows that at Christmas a third of buyers will look for bargains and promotions but at the same time 75% of consumers say they look for quality and durability in what they buy.

User searches related to sustainable and environmentally conscious gifts are also on the rise, focusing on the role of brands in society, as promoters of a more conscious lifestyle.

Our recommendations:

If you have an e-commerce, do not postpone the site check-up any longer. With the increase in visits and purchases it is important that the site does not present bugs and is updated, stable and fast;
Even if you haven’t implemented an ADV plan in time, don’t give up on promoting yourself online. It’s time to launch geolocated social media campaigns dedicated to January purchases. Especially if you don’t have a history and a marketing plan, simplify by focusing on awareness in specific geographic areas adjacent to your business;
Advocacy, advocacy, advocacy: stimulate word of mouth by working on current customer retention (retention). Asking for reviews, posting satisfied customers on social media is an accessible way to generate new leads organically.

If you have a B2B brand, however, here’s what we suggest:

The holidays are also a great opportunity for B2B communication: in the world of services, it’s time to strengthen relationships with customers and stakeholders, to generate new contacts and remember the presence of our brand in the sector.

This is where digital can make a difference, offering new possibilities to connect target companies and customers.

Our recommendations:

Inaugurate a newsletter plan by sending the subscription request with Christmas greetings: in this way you can start the new year with a database of already segmented customers;
Focus on offline activities: moments of exchanging greetings, paper tickets to be sent, a small gadget can make the difference in terms of retention and brand awareness. Remember that your customers are also thinking about next year, it’s the right time to remember the peak services;
The time to talk about the past year is now: challenges, people, projects, goals achieved. Involve your customer in the story, arousing identification between you and the customer thanks to storytelling techniques (preferably on video).

One last consideration: the hot period of festive shopping is expanding every year and now also covers the month of January. Taking advantage of this expansion can be a way to activate a new marketing strategy at the beginning of the new year, riding the interest and queries of this season.

Needless to tell you how important it is to plan your 2023 marketing now, carefully choose your medium and long-term goals and establish the budget to invest.

We are at your disposal to answer all your doubts, you can contact us at any time and ask for advice, without obligation.

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