Holiday Guide Part #5: Prep for 2017 with a Holiday Recap

November 10, 2016
Kati McKinney
Kati McKinney


November 10, 2016

Even though the holiday season has just started, it’s never too early to lay down some ground work to prep for 2017. Take a few minutes to read through these tips on how to wrap up your holiday marketing and start out the new year right.

Tip #1: Record your holiday marketing performance for next year

Be sure you keep track of your holiday marketing stats like email engagement, revenue KPIs and product assortment details. Also, think about creating useful documents to reference like; an editorial calendar, segmentation strategy and messaging touchpoints so you can easily access them in July or August to prep for the next year. Knowing where you were last year versus where you see yourself next year, helps you to better plan your holiday marketing budget and make smarter moves.

Monitor holiday shopping trends that influenced all major holidays relevant to your store’s data. For example, look at how many of your sales came from mobile devices this year. Don’t just look at the sales you drew in from mobile, take a look at your site on mobile devices and test out your checkout process. Is it a smooth experience? Does it have slow loading times or are there too many steps to purchase? Once you know these answers you can begin ironing out those problem areas and increase mobile shoppers to your site to increase your overall sales throughout the entire year.

Tip #2: Keep holiday customers engaged with targeted emails

As you already know, personalized and triggered emails are a great way to draw your customers in. They provide a direct one-on-one opportunity to customize your messages based on demographics and purchase history to upsell other products to them.

First, weed out customers that received your products as a gift or self-gifters and send them a completely different email campaign that drives additional revenue by suggesting coordinating items.

Think about upselling other products. Airfare needs a hotel. Coats need gloves. The upsell of other useful products is often more profitable than the sale of the original item. Segment your emails based on previous purchases and demographics to make it a successful campaign.

Another campaign to think about is replenishing emails. Send these emails out every few months as friendly reminder for customers to repurchase things they may run out of like: perfumes, candles, popcorn, etc.  This is an easy way to gain repeat purchases by using the demographic info in your database.

One last email campaign idea can be a re-target email for future gift-giving holidays or the following year. This is a good way to remind your customers of your brand and products they previously purchased to get them to buy again.

Tip #3: Cash-in on gift cards

Whether you offer digital or physical gift cards for your store, there are likely many recipients patiently waiting to use their cards. Most customers will likely forget to use their shiny new gift cards after the hustle and bustle of the holiday season so be sure to capture their email at the time of purchase. Don’t wait for them to come to you; send segmented emails to your customers based on their purchase history and demographic data to show them targeted offerings they may not have thought of. After people spend all that money on friends and family, they’re sure to want to do a little retail therapy on something for themselves.

Implementing a post-holiday wrap up always better prepares you for the following years. Just follow your plan and set goals for the next year and it’ll get easier and easier as the years go on.  Also, don’t forget to check out our previous posts in our Holiday Golden Rule Blog posts like: How to Create Dazzling Content", “Focusing on the New Customer Experience", “How to Create an Omni-Channel Shopping Experience” and “Wow Your Customers with Engaging Content”.  The holiday season can be stressful so we’re making sure you’re prepared and ready with a solid holiday marketing campaign year after year.golden-rule-5-listing

Tags: Cross Channel Marketing, Digital Marketing, Digital Strategy, 2016 Holiday

Senior Marketing Strategist, Shaw/Scott (New York) Armed with eight years’ experience in digital marketing, from email to content strategy, and a portfolio that spans retail, financial services, and healthcare, Kati takes a holistic view of email marketing. With a passion for innovation, she has applied her expertise to a wide variety of campaigns, including triggered emails, lifecycle programs, mobile-first strategies, and dynamic, behavior-focused campaigns. In the retail sector, her specialty lies in creating and executing revenue-driving programs that increase channel productivity. She’s worked her magic on brands including Ralph Lauren, Shopbop, and Ameriprise Financial.

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