Holiday Marketing Ideas to Boost eCommerce Sales During This Holiday Season
Almost every online business seeks to boost sales around the holidays. Here are five tried-and-true ways to increase conversions at the calendar year’s close, from digital marketing methods used by most successful eCommerce businesses to unique approaches that bridge offline and online promotion, such as sharing discount codes with loyal customers in business Christmas cards.
- Run Limited Time Promotions
The holiday season lasts for over a month, during which many customers anticipate celebrations traditionally observed by exchanging gifts. Whether a business counts down the days to Christmas, New Year’s Day, or any other date relevant to customers, these specials work by stimulating demand.
These types of specials may apply to one or more items or services. It is also possible to run more than one countdown promotion over the course of a holiday season. When running promotions based on the premise of limited time or availability, an eCommerce business should also factor in shipping times.
- Engage Customers On Social Media
Many social media users observe the holidays by interacting with posts made by businesses they support. It may be possible to increase sales year-over-year by doing annual promotions that encourage user participation.
A business might encourage gift givers and recipients to pose with products or include hashtags to use and ways to interact with a brand and other fans online. In the short term, sharing special offers with social media followers is a good way to reward loyal customers and potential leads.
- Make a Special Offer In Business Christmas Cards
Businesses that build databases of contact information based on past purchases can go one step further and send personalized greetings to customers. Design bulk Christmas cards with your choice of cover design and try including an interior message with a unique discount code.
Receiving a paper card in the mail tends to make more of an impression than among many digital promotions. Besides a choice of cover designs, some of which set room aside for printing the name of a business, and the content of the message on the interior, there are many other options for customizing cards to support holiday sales. Have cards printed with custom photo covers or add other personalized touches such as signatures, a logo, or a charity line.
- Give Email Subscribers Holiday Deals
Just because customers receive many promotional emails during the holiday season does not mean that you should withhold special deals from these business communications. There are many ways to add personalized or special touches to emails.
A business may want to consider grouping or segmenting customers to send the most relevant special offers to make more sales at the right time of the season. Businesses that repeat this promotion every year, whether in digital or paper format, give loyal customers a special offer to look forward to that could lead to repeat holiday business.
- Optimize Your Online Store
All of the marketing methods listed above should direct customers toward an eCommerce store. It is important to ensure that your site is ready to increase traffic and provides a smooth shopping and check-out experience. Taking the time to develop and run promotions can only pay off if your website or store is oriented toward successful conversions.
Most eCommerce businesses can boost holiday sales through a combination of these methods. All of these measures can be implemented online. Marketing methods that extend offline into the real world, such as sending business Christmas cards, can be particularly effective. Recipients are more likely to keep and refer back to a holiday card, making these physical items particularly useful for boosting sales online.
