Tis’ the season for big sales, so we sat down with marketing expert and long-term Digital Solutions mentor Kirri Romero to learn how to make the most of it at this stage in the year.
The Christmas period is well and truly upon us, and with it comes a wave of over AU$11bn in national consumer spending.
Whether you’re in the gifting and retail sector or a different niche, the festive season is ripe with seasonal sales opportunities for a wide range of industries from health to tech and everything in between.
Just ask marketing expert Kirri Romero, founder of The Online Fix and long-term Digital Solutions mentor at Melbourne Innovation Centre.
“While it may be the rundown to closure for some in professional services, if you’re in ecommerce or have a product or service you can sell online, the Christmas period is intense,” Kirri advises.
“Even if you’re not a gifting-style business, just about every industry seems to see a peak as people get ready to go on holidays. It presents a world of opportunity as people rush to get everything done before the year ends, so I encourage businesses to really understand the seasonal rush.”
Kirri - who has led teams of 30+ on digital projects and now works with hundreds of businesses each year across multiple sectors - says thinking ahead is key.
“Ideally, you need to have thought of your strategy months in advance. Things like campaigns, and collaborations take time and planning. There are so many opportunities but if you don’t pre-plan, you tend to miss the boat.”
But if you haven’t implemented your seasonal strategy, don’t fret. There are some last minute tactics you can employ to boost your marketing this season. Here are Kirri’s three top tips:
Run a paid promotion on social media
“Putting spend behind a well-thought out paid promotion to get more eyeballs in front of your products is an easy win,” Kirri advises.
“For any business that is still in their growth phase of getting the business and customer-based established, running a paid promotion generally fits into the scalability piece.
“And then there’s those who have been around a little longer and perhaps have leads you’ve been nurturing or an existing customer base you want to expand on. If you get the formula right and understand your audience and their buying behaviour, putting the paid spend behind certain posts can pay dividends.”
Increase your average sale amount
“Increasing your average sale amount is the biggest opportunity the Christmas season brings,” Kirri says.
“If you’re an ecommerce brand and you haven’t got cross promotion across popular categories on your website, that’s something you can implement right now. Look at the way you advertise on socials. It’s not just about one sale, it’s about multiple product sales in one. Maximising sales is a quick and easy win and a simple tweak to make in your customer’s user experience.
“Incentivising free shipping or adding a free gift with purchase is another great way to do this. Think - what other value adds can you include? What's the price point of the average product and what can you shift so that it’s two items going into the cart, rather than one?”
Put your email list to good use
“It’s so undervalued because it’s often done so badly, but email is still the best converting channel when it’s done well,” Kirri says.
“As I said earlier, the most important thing about the busy period over christmas is preparation. If you haven't been nurturing that email list it might not be so easy, but if you have a list - go for it.
“Strategic and target emails will make sure you’re staying top of mind and putting yourself into people’s inboxes because it does convert when you get it right.”
Kirri Romero has been a trusted MIC mentor for a number of years. She loves the variety and loves helping other businesses connect dots, distil noise and succeed.
Need further assistance with implementing your marketing strategies? Choose from 40 different mentors. Register for one-on-one mentoring through the Digital Solutions Program.