The holiday season is here, and with that comes the season of sales and promotions that aggressively compete to gain the consumers attention. Even though the holiday season only makes up a small percentage of the year, It never hurts to be prepared regardless of what industry you’re in. According to Google, preparing for the holiday season should start from the beginning of the year and should be an ongoing effort throughout the year. In order to stand out from the competition, Google recommends incorporating these following three tactics to your strategy.
When it comes to holiday shopping, there are a few types of consumers. Those who purchase ahead of time, those who purchase around the holidays, and those who leave their holiday purchases until the last minute. Consumers are increasingly looking to do their shopping ahead of time and tend to consider the brands that they are already familiar with or have a relationship with throughout the year. According to Google, in 2018, 40% of consumers began their holiday shopping in October. During these times, Christmas isn’t the dominant holiday and instead, marketing and advertising campaigns tend to focus on Halloween and Thanksgiving in the United States, and Day of the Dead in Latin America. Despite this, consumers are already starting to consider their different purchasing options. Because of this, it’s recommended that brands begin to reach out earlier in the year in order to reach all consumers.
Apart from reaching consumers during pre-peak purchase times, Google recommends fostering good relationships with consumers year round. In doing so, it’s easier to meet all of the requirements and checklists that consumers have when determining what brands to choose for their purchases. Consumers like to be informed by conducting thorough research about the brands and their respective products they are taking into consideration. According to Google’s research, consumers take approximately 9 days longer in making a final decision regarding a purchase than in 2015. By increasing brand-consumer interactions, the probability of being the brand of choice during a purchase also increase. Establishing a good relationship throughout the year, and that is actively present throughout the entire consumer journey will make your brand a better candidate compared to the competition. Instead of only being actively and aggressively present during certain seasons or quarters, your brand will be ready to generate conversions at any given time.
Speaking of presence, it’s important to have a good balance between an online and offline presence. Many purchases during the holiday season still occur in-store. Because consumers like to be informed, it’s important to have an online presence that enhances the in-store consumer experience by providing the resources needed to conduct the appropriate research on the spot. According to Google, 68% of people conduct their shopping research through digital means, 57% of which take place on mobile devices. If your brand does not have an online presence, it’s of great importance to begin creating one in order to improve the consumer experience and drive sales. Consumers want information, and they want it now. In order to have great results this holiday season, the trick is to be able to complement one presence with the other, instead of treating them as completely different and separate entities.
Source: www.adweek.com