The holidays are quickly approaching. Is your business ready for gift shoppers? Here are five ways you can increase sales this holiday season with a strategic marketing plan.

Holiday Sale

Offer a special holiday sale and advertise it through email marketing and social media posts. Keep in mind that foot traffic in retail stores fell 7.5 percent last November and December, demonstrating that people are turning to online shopping more now than ever. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly and easy-to-navigate, especially during the busy holiday season.

To make the sale even more enticing, only offer the deal for a certain amount of time so customers are more likely to buy now.

Themed Email Marketing

If you notice your emails don’t get opened as much as you’d like, try tailoring your next one to the holidays. Holiday-themed emails lead to more conversions than standard emails, so take advantage of this time and send out themed emails. Make your subject related to gift shopping or a special holiday sale.

Social Media Videos

Does your product make a great holiday gift? Show your audience why with a social media video. 72 percent of Internet users prefer to learn about a product through a video than in written form. Social media videos are cheaper than running television ads, and you’ll be reaching people who are already interested in your products.

Price Matching

Many holiday shoppers are looking for the best deal possible, so if you can offer competitor price matching, you should. Customers will appreciate you lowering the price for them and will be more likely to come back to you next time, too.

Free Shipping

Customers are more likely to pay a little more for the product if they get free shipping. For example, a product for $20 and free shipping is more enticing than paying $16 for the product and $4 for shipping. If you can, offer free shipping for the holidays, even if you have to bump up the product’s cost a few dollars. Make sure it’s clear to your customers that you are offering free shipping during the holiday season.

The holiday season is a great time to ensure you’re targeting gift shoppers with sales, videos, and email marketing. These tips should help you increase your sales this holiday season and help you develop your holiday marketing plan for next year, too.

Creative Spot is a full-service marketing and advertising agency in Columbus, Ohio. If you would like to learn more about how we can help your organization with holiday marketing, please contact us.