Holiday Marketing 101: The Cornerstones

Just last week we re-introduced ourselves as your partner in marketing your small-to-medium business for the 2014 holiday season. Let's get started, shall we . . . . .

Holiday Marketing 101? Well, we know you know your offering better than anyone. Think of this "course" reference as enlightening vs. educational . Afterall, partners consult NOT lecture!!

At Votre Mot, we don't view marketing as a solo act, we view it as more of a collection of activities necessary to fuel your business organization external identify {internal identity? VM Learning & Development!!}.  This groups main task? Sharing! Sharing your products and service to consumers.

Take a look at our Marketing Activity Cornerstones . . .

Branding - Who is our product or service?
Advertising - Are we visible to our targets?
Public Relations & Philanthropy - What have we done' lately?
Communications - What are we talking about, and what is our language?

Yes, no error we meant "our" and "we" - "your baby" is "our God child"!! So, let's get back to Holiday Marketing. These four areas also have seasonal application . . .

Brand . . . . Who is our product or service this holiday season . . .
Advertise . . . Are we visible to our targets this holiday season . . .
Relate & Share . . . What have we done lately? What can we do? Can we share or engage . . .
Communicate . . . . . What are we talking about, and how are we saying it this holiday season . . . .

An now the tips . . . . . .

Who is your product or service this holiday season?

• Do you have a holiday tagline? Maybe you can stamp your company name on new items or in a new format - special for the holidays. You can do this within your organization as well.  Let people know your offering is in the spirit - develop and show your brands personality

Are you visible to your targets this holiday season?

• Anyone can advertise anywhere, at any time these days.  Simply advertising does not mean you are marketing your offering. Have you identified your target audience? Is there a new group of consumers with whom you'd like to connect? 
• Go to them . . . . What new places (online and in the community) can you engage your targets? Trade Shows, Seasonal Events & Gatherings, Partnerships with other businesses
• Bring them to you . . . Don't just Celebrate Black Friday , Blue Saturday, Cyber Monday . . oh yea and Gray Thursday . . create you own shopping holiday unique to your offering or services.   

What have we done or what can we do that can be shared with or done along with our customers?

• Are you doing good in the world? Are you working on something great? Blog about it, capture it in pictures and video, invite consumers along for the ride or project.  Remember Good PR/Philanthropy can drive customer loyalty - we all want to be associated with "good".    

What are we talking about and how are we doing this?

• You must talk about more than buy this, buy that - come here, go there.  After all, that is not a conversation! Plan your communications throughout the holiday season -  from your social media to your email marketing - literally map out a calendar. What actions will we take to engage customers and how we demonstrate our appreciation? What do you want and need to say, how will "everyone" be saying this? 

I think your juices are flowing, until next week - this session is dismissed!!!