If you want to jingle all the way to the bank this holiday season, try these unique and innovative Christmas marketing ideas for small businesses.
Marketing during Christmas is always a challenge. In some industries, it’s overcrowded and highly competitive. Whereas in others, your target audience starts to shut down and relax.
However, there are ways of striking sweet success. In this article, we share some top sector-specific Christmas marketing campaign ideas you can swipe and deploy to give your festive sales a boost in 2021.
Christmas marketing ideas for B2B
In 2019, the number of people doing last-minute Christmas shopping in December in the UK was down 40%. However, with Covid-19 and lockdown 2.0 impacting the UK in 2021, things will be different this year.
The key for retailers is to act now and utilise digital marketing. While there isn’t enough time to create a complete festive strategy, there are certain Christmas marketing ideas you can implement to see some quick wins.
12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS OFFERS
Kick-start December with 12 days of unique offers. It’s the perfect way to continue the feel-good vibe generated by Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Every offer should be available for just one day. This will create urgency and produce some quick sales in the lead up to Christmas.
To fully maximise the potential of this Christmas marketing idea for retailers, make these offers exclusive to email subscribers only. This way, you can encourage social media followers to sign-up for email communications and extend your marketing reach in the future.
If your existing email list or social media following is lacking, use social media paid ads or PPC to generate interest and subscribers.
CHRISTMAS MARKETING IDEAS FOR RESTAURANTS IN 2021
Pent up demand from lockdown and last-minute Christmas shopping will create a wave of customers looking for somewhere to enjoy a nice bite to eat and a few drinks.
While sending emailers out and posting on social media are both worth doing to encourage takeaway or Christmas bookings, thinking outside the box this year might give you a different way of optimising success.
PARTNER UP WITH A LOCAL CHARITY
Do your part for the community by supporting a local charity. There are many ways you can do this. For example, you could donate leftover food and make meals for the homeless. Or you could offer a free Christmas lunch to the elderly to help fight loneliness over the holidays.
This Christmas marketing idea for restaurants might not be measurable, but it will make you stand out and give you an angle for PR.
CHRISTMAS MARKETING IDEAS FOR ESTATE AGENTS IN 2021
December isn’t a strong time for the property industry. However, instead of trying to force sales, you should use this period to set your estate agency up for a strong start to Q1.
FREE VALUATION, FREE HAMPER
To encourage more property listings with you, offer a free Christmas hamper in exchange for a free valuation via email.
This Christmas marketing idea for estate agents is a simple way of identifying potential sellers and boosting your listings at the end of December and the start of January.
DISCOUNTED FEES
Estate agency fees are always a big factor for many buyers and sellers – especially around Christmas. To tempt people to engage in your services during the festive period, lower your fees until 31st December. Just make sure you clearly detail the potential savings your customers could make.
CHRISTMAS MARKETING IDEAS FOR HOTELS IN 2021
In what has been a catastrophic year for tourism and hospitality, it’s essential to spread a bit of Christmas cheer in December.
One of the best ways to do this is to run a competition.
WIN A FREE STAY COMPETITION
Sometimes you need to give, to receive. Therefore, give your social media followers, previous guests and email subscribers a chance to win a free stay at your hotel on New Year’s Eve or in 2021. (Depending on lockdown restrictions.)
Firstly, you should set-up a landing page on your website to allow you to capture email data. Once you have this information, you can create an automated ‘runners-up’ email marketing campaign.
The idea is that you send an email to the unsuccessful entrants with a ‘runners-up’ prize – i.e. offering them a limited time discount off a stay at your hotel. Telling someone that they’ve won a discount sounds a lot better than telling them they’ve lost and offering a discount.
It’s a simple, yet smart way of doing something positive for others and receiving further business in return. To get the best response with this Christmas marketing idea, we recommend promoting this competition campaign via paid social media ads.
CHRISTMAS MARKETING IDEAS FOR B2B
The problem with selling services or products and generating meetings during December is that a lot of businesses are looking to wind down operations until January. However, you shouldn’t give up the ghost.
LUMPY DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGN FROM FATHER CHRISTMAS
One of the most effective ways of cutting through any Christmas marketing noise and reaching cold prospects is to send them a piece of lumpy direct mail.
Most recipients will receive several letters every day which won’t make it past the gatekeeper. However, a parcel or lumpy envelope containing a personalised gift and a letter from Father Christmas will demand a response.
Keeping it anonymous will raise intrigue, while the personalised gift will make the recipient feel obliged to engage in a conversation with your business.
Don’t be afraid to use colourful envelopes or packaging and to make the letter content direct. This Christmas marketing campaign for B2B is about being bold and showing some personality. It’s the only way you’ll gain some success during a quiet period.
SPEAK TO OUR LITTLE HELPERS
If you’d like some support running your Christmas marketing campaigns, get in touch with Design in the Shires today. We’re currently offering 20% off all website design, email marketing, content marketing, graphic design, SEO, PPC and social media marketing services to help local businesses bounce back.
Merry Christmas!
