Make the most of the festive season

By Thabo Baxa

Feel it, it’s here — I’m talking about the festive season. Everywhere I turn, people are sitting under their trees in the shade and having a good time. Malls are packed as customers begin making purchases for the holidays. Here’s how you can get a share of the consumer wallet:

Prepare, prepare, prepare.

It’s a common business practice to prepare for festive shopping early. Start putting out Christmas and New Year decorations. Make announcements on your digital platforms that you will be running promotions to surprise your consumers for the sale. Reach out to suppliers to restock on top-selling items.

Reactivate your past and loyal customers.

Do you have customers who have not bought from your business in a while? This is the perfect time to reach out and let them know you miss them. One of the simplest reactivation messages you can run is: “Hi, we miss you. How have you been?” It is advised not to overcomplicate the first message. Let them know you miss them and ask how they’ve been. I usually send two or three messages for this — one asking how they’ve been and another letting them know you have a special offer for them.

The other campaign is for loyal customers. Send this to customers who are in your VIP list. If you don’t have a VIP list, create one now. Your VIP list includes customers who have bought from your multiple times or who have made significant purchases. I also like to include customers who reactivate and comment on the business’s social media accounts. Facebook has a nice way of showing this by creating badges.

For this one, create an exclusive offer and let them know it’s just for them. You can give them discounts that you do not advertise.

Get new customers.

Thanks to the internet, there are plenty of prospects out there to add to your database. These are three ways to try: first, run a lead generation campaign. A lead is a person who has given you permission to contact them. The best platform to run a lead generation campaign is Facebook; it gives you access to the name, email, and phone number of a prospect to follow up with.

The second way is through sales promotion. This often depends on the type of business you run. If you sell products, a sales campaign is the best to run. If you offer services, appointments are the best for.

The third best way is running a giveaway campaign. Giveaways are the best ways to get the most reach. When I run a giveaway, I tell my prospects to tag at least 3 people and share it on their profile. To get the most out of a giveaway campaign, message people who didn’t win and give them a discount as thanks for entering your giveaway.

Ensure you are everywhere and on time, that way you can not only reach more customers but also stay top of mind. To achieve omni-present marketing utilize multiple media channels like billboards, radio, social media, and newspapers like The Guard that circulates every week.

Make the most from each customer.

Instead of just one-time purchases, make the most from each customer. The strategy is to utilize bundles to increase your customer’s average order value. Utilise cross-sell and up-sell when someone purchases one thing — suggest related products. Run promotions like buy one get one free and similar strategies.

Keep them happy and referring!

If you are constantly getting new leads and new customers, you need to deliver on your promises and make them happy. Create an awesome customer experience so shopping with you is a no-brainer. By creating a wow experience, you ensure that your customers come back for more. And more importantly, they refer you to their friends and family. The cheapest customer acquisition channel is word of mouth. The best way to get referrals is through referral programs where you incentivize your customers for referring your business. That way, you can get more referrals. You can do that via discounts for referrals or cash payments for referrals.

Now, go ahead and create the best campaign to get the most out of your customers. It’s festive, people are spending happily, and by placing yourself in front of as many people as possible, you can make the most out of this festive season and acquire more customers to sell to next time. Wishing you success this festive season and beyond.