The holiday season is more than just a time for cozy sweaters and festive decorations; it’s also a prime opportunity for businesses to reach existing and new customers. Going digital this holiday season is the key to turning those online window shoppers into excited buyers. With projections showing half of consumers will have made purchasing decisions by the end of November, the time is now to get in front of them. 

Whether you’re a small local shop or a giant e-commerce retailer, effective digital marketing to real people can make a big difference in your year-end results. Capturing the hearts (and wallets) of holiday shoppers doesn’t require a marketing degree. There are many simple but effective ways to boost your business and increase customer conversions during this joyful time of year. 

Understand Holiday Shopping Trends 

The first step for advertisers to effectively plan their campaigns and maximize their impact during the holidays is to understand trends and consumer behavior. With the popularity of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, consumer spending tends to spike significantly during these periods. However, it’s important to note that in recent years, the trend of early holiday shopping has been on the rise, with consumers starting their shopping as early as September to take advantage of early deals and discounts. 

Advertisers can leverage these trends by strategically timing their campaigns to align with these key shopping periods, ensuring their messages reach consumers when they are actively seeking to make holiday purchases. By closely monitoring these trends and adjusting their strategies accordingly, advertisers can capitalize on the heightened consumer interest and maximize their campaign effectiveness during the bustling holiday shopping season.

Nervous that you’re late to the game? Get in touch with our team of digital experts and launch a turnkey digital campaign within days!

Effective Strategies to Reach Holiday Shoppers

We put together a list of effective marketing strategies for your business to reach holiday shoppers:

• Understand your target audience. The first step to a successful digital campaign, whether it takes place over the holidays or during the year, is to identify who you want to reach. If, for example, you’re a retail store that sells primarily children’s apparel, you will want to make sure you are reaching individuals who have children in their household or are grandparents. With people-based data, you can accurately build an audience of real people that meets your criteria. This way, your ad dollars aren’t wasted by targeting individuals who are not interested in your goods and services. 

• Create compelling and personalized content. Personalized subject lines are 22% more likely to be opened. Tailoring messages and content that resonate with the preferences of your target audience helps to capture attention and create strong connections.  

• Deliver targeted promotions and discounts. By offering attractive deals and limited-time offers, businesses can create a sense of urgency and excitement, prompting customers to act quickly. This can significantly contribute to building customer loyalty and increasing the likelihood of repeat purchases during and even after the holiday season.

Post-Holiday Engagement and Retention 

Your efforts should not end once the holidays do. After the holiday season, businesses should focus on building long-term relationships with their new customers. This can be achieved by maintaining communication via emails, newsletters, and social posts as well as showing genuine appreciation for their support. Additionally, leveraging customer feedback and data collected during the holiday period allows businesses to gain valuable insights into customer preferences and behaviors. Analyzing this data enables companies to refine their marketing strategies and tailor future promotions and offerings to better meet customer needs, thereby fostering continued engagement and loyalty.

Implementing loyalty programs and exclusive post-holiday offers is another effective way to retain holiday customers. By providing incentives such as rewards, special discounts, or early access to new products, businesses can encourage customers to keep coming back. 

Actively encouraging customer reviews and referrals contributes to sustained growth by enhancing brand credibility and visibility. Positive reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations from satisfied holiday shoppers can significantly influence the purchasing decisions of new customers, creating a cycle of continuous growth and loyalty for the business.

Achieve Lasting Seasonal Success

The holiday season presents a significant opportunity for businesses to enhance their sales and foster long-term customer relationships. By understanding the behavior of the holiday shopper and focusing on effective digital marketing strategies, businesses can transform mere browsers into loyal buyers. 

Building lasting relationships with customers through post-holiday engagement, loyalty programs, and encouraging customer reviews facilitates sustained growth and a loyal customer base beyond the holidays. Embracing these strategies not only ensures a successful holiday season but also lays a strong foundation for continued business success throughout the year.

With BRIDGE as your marketing partner, we’ll help ensure your advertising efforts never go to waste. Our rich database of real people helps you target and identify your true buying audience down to their lifestyles, shopping habits, and interests. We know real people and we know where to reach them. We’ll help you build compelling ad content and we’ll deliver those ads to the real people who make up your target audience on the digital channels they use most. Plus, we’ll always show you exactly how we did with our transparent visual reporting capabilities. Maximize your marketing success and never again waste precious ad spend by partnering with a real-people-based partner like BRIDGE. 

Get in touch with a member of our team to reach real shoppers and experience the BRIDGE difference.