B2B Marketing strategies for the holidays

The Holiday season is near, how do I market my software product/ services?

The fact that the festive period is approaching is good news for any tech company because people use the quiet period to research, read and plan for next year. So, it is an excellent opportunity to increase your visibility and brand awareness. Also, it is the end of the year for most businesses which means they will be looking to spend any unspent budget.

What implications does that have on marketing?

This means marketing teams need to gear up marketing campaigns to increase awareness. Holiday related messaging is an excellent way to raise awareness. But be careful and stay relevant! Going overboard on holiday messaging can backfire. Keep it genuine, relevant and make use of social media platforms as they are perceived as more relaxed and informal.

Don’t forget the second set of audience who are looking to utilise their unspent budget for the year. They are further down in the buying cycle and hence would be interested in content that helps them make a decision quicker. If you are marketer, you must be already thinking business cases, client case studies, testimonials and product videos. Who says you can’t make any of the above marketing assets festive.

Coming up with an effective holiday marketing strategy can be a challenge, as competition is always high during this period. Not to worry, this guide contains the answers you seek. Let’s consider five winning strategies you can use to market your tech products as we approach the UK holidays.

Start planning early

You don’t expect to plant a seed this month and harvest its fruit the following month. The same principle is also applicable to marketing. If you wish you to make more sales in the forthcoming holidays, then you must start brainstorming what content strategy would be the most effective for your website,  emails, and ads. Try to be creative and flexible, welcome new ideas, and make sure you don’t leave it too late.

While preparing for your holiday marketing, you need to ensure :

• Improve the bandwidth of your site: You need to plan for future increase in traffic caused by seasonal spikes. Hence, your website requires some extra bandwidth to be able to cope with the pressure. You don’t want to lose customers and sales because your site is slow or crashes.
• Email Marketing: If you have a list of customers that haven’t bought from you in a while, this is the best time to get back in touch. Send them personalised, relevant emails and holiday-related content to nurture them for future sales.
• Pay-per-click advertising: The holiday period comes with a lot of competition. However, it’s still an excellent opportunity to win new clients, especially if you plan and launch your product/software early.
• Leverage on Social Media: Identify your customers and find out which social media platform (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) they use the most. Connect with them on these platforms and let them know why they need your products, especially as the festive period approaches.
• Create landing pages for unique products and promotions
• Track the results of each strategy you use to see which channel is giving you the best results.

Be ready for more competition than before

The increased rivalry during the festive period makes marketing more difficult. Hence, you need to plan early and ensure you don’t get overwhelmed by it. Examine what marketing strategies your competitors are using and brainstorm on how to stand out.

Create an influencer strategy

Your customers are expected to make use of social media more during the holiday periods; thus, influencer marketing can be a game-changer. Increase brand awareness on social media by creating an influencer strategy that would stay in your customers mind.

Don’t fake it. Give customers good reasons to buy

Your customers know what they want, better than you do. But can you make your value proposition attractive by offering year-end discounts or bundling up extra support and services? Can your solutions help your customer manage seasonal peaks more effectively? Then your marketing messaging should focus on that.

Don’t ignore your existing customers

The chances are that both new and returning customers will visit your website during the holidays. However, it is far easier to convince an existing customer to buy your products than the new one. While it is good to make new customers try not to forget the existing ones in the process.

Plan to cross-sell and up-sell to existing customers in advance. Start by analysing how their business will be effected in the holiday season and how you could help them. Creating marketing messaging that is relevant to their immediate needs could result in quick sales.

For example – if your existing customer is in the retail industry, could you provide a solution to manage seasonal peak in sales? Or help them manage their inventory better?

Conclusion

Coming up with a unique and effective marketing strategy during the holidays can be challenging. However, using the tips in this guide would help you make the most of the holiday season. Keep in mind that there would always be quiet times during this time of the year. However, starting early with a good plan makes it easy to overcome any challenge. If your customers have seen your messaging, they might not react immediately, but you are investing in your future pipeline!

The Christmas and New-Year holidays are approaching fast; hence, you need to start planning now.  Happy Holidays and Good luck!