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The holidays are considered the season of giving as people scramble to buy gifts to give to their loved ones. To encourage more sales, many retail shops and large businesses roll out various marketing campaigns. As someone with a hand in the marketing decisions of your company, you need to grab the opportunity of staying top of mind among your customers when they feel the most generous. One way to do that is by playing it smart with your marketing strategies.

While it is easy for large companies to execute their marketing plans thanks to their deep pockets, it can be more challenging to do the same if you are a small business or have a tight marketing budget. Fortunately, there are different ways you can capture your target market without breaking the bank. To find out some of the fantastic and cost-effective holiday marketing ideas, read on.

Give Holiday Gifts

Giving special holiday presents is a great way to show your appreciation to your customers during the holidays. Although this works for different types of businesses, it is most effective for businesses that maintain year-long contracts with their clients.

If you have a small business or working on a tight budget, you can allocate funds to reserve the gifts for your top-tier clients. It makes more business sense and creates a sense of exclusivity. When deciding on which holiday gifts to send, make sure they will be well-received by your intended target audience. Aside from a marketing tactic, think of the gift as a way to foster better relationships with your customers. Some universally sound gift ideas are to send a holiday food basket or a coffee brewing kit.

Another idea when choosing a holiday gift is to pick items your clients can use throughout the year such as pens, mugs, and coasters. Aside from being affordable and useful, these things are highly customizable and make ideal marketing gifts. So if you want your customers to remember you, make sure the gifts have appropriate branding that ties the item to your business. For instance, you can have custom coasters made with your brand colors and logo. Each time clients use the coasters you give, they will be reminded of your business.

Send Holiday Greeting Cards

What better way to welcome the festive season than by sending holiday cards through the mail? In today’s digital era, when communications are typically done online, giving holiday greeting cards with special messages provide a more personal touch to your marketing campaign. It also adds an element of nostalgia, making it unique and memorable. Additionally, direct mail has a better open rate than emails. On an average, direct mail has an open rate of 90 percent while most emails are only opened 20 to 30 percent.

Even if you get the services of a professional, holiday cards are still very affordable. And the best part is that you can maximize the design by promoting it through your digital channels such as your company’s website and social media profiles. In case you are sending the holiday card along with catalogs or promotion codes, make sure to do it early so that customers have more time to shop. But if you don’t want to attach any promotions, you can mail the cards closer to the holidays. 

Offer a Special Holiday Promo

Having holiday promos are a fantastic marketing strategy too. If individual gift-giving does not suit your marketing budget, special offers and promotions can help increase your sales during the holidays. The best thing about it is that you have an extensive selection of promos your brand can run. It includes giving a product for free or a branded customer gift for a certain purchase, both of which support the concept of gift-giving. You can also offer trial-size products with every purchase as well as special holiday incentives to encourage clients to buy more. For example, you can run a promo where clients buy two products and get another item for free.

Run a Festive Social Media Contest

When you have a tight budget, one cost-efficient marketing idea is to utilize your business’s social media channels. It can help your brand reach a wider market of potential customers with minimal costs. One effective way to fully maximize social media is by increasing audience engagement through contests. 

The best thing about holding a social media contest is that you can also use it to grow your brand’s social media following and improve website visits at the same time. If you want to get the best results, many marketers suggest concentrating on a specific goal.

As an example, you can increase brand awareness and social media following by asking contest participants to like and share your posts as well as tagging a specific number of friends. If you want to drive more traffic to your website, you can design a landing page that is specifically for the use of the contest.

Implementing campaigns during the holiday season is an effective way to boost your business’s marketing efforts. Although large companies can easily carry out their plans, it is also possible for small businesses with leaner budgets to create an effective marketing strategy that’s fit for the holidays. If you want a more budget-friendly approach, you need to be more creative in capturing the attention of your target market and retaining customer loyalty.