Tis the Season When Your Clients Expect Deals…
The nations #1 retailer, Wal-Mart, announced that in order to avoid a stampede of customers on Black Friday it will keep most of its U.S. stores open 24 hours, beginning the day-after-Thanksgiving. Last year there was such a mad dash to get to the after Thanksgiving deals that one of its temporary employees was trapped behind a door and asphyxiated. It’s hard to imagine saving money could be that critical to the buying public, but apparently that is the case.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term “Black Friday”, it’s the day after Thanksgiving when all the retailers hope to have so much business that it puts their business back into the “black” on their financial statements. In other words, they hope to be making money – not losing money for the year.
This begs the question, what do you plan to offer your customers, as part of your marketing plan, for holiday deals and specials? It’s obvious when you read stories, such as the one about Wal-Mart, that this is the time of year when customers expect discounts and special incentives to buy, and maybe even look forward to them all year.
Here are some money-saving ideas you can offer your customers:
- offer a discount in your direct mail advertisements – useful for service and retail businesses.
- offer a gift card when spending a certain amount or signing a service contract for a certain amount of money.
- offer discount coupons to local attractions such as amusement parks, holiday events, movie theatres, etc.
- offer a free upgrade for your products or services with a specific purchase amount.
- offer a free gift for visiting your store, showroom, or with an in-home consultation.
- partner with your local shopping mall or other shopping establishment and offer your customers, or prospective customers, a free gift card, which can be redeemed at their stores, restaurants, etc. You may even be able to get these gift cards at no cost, since it will benefit the shopping malls, etc. when the customers patronize them.
- give a free subscription to a local magazine that promotes local businesses and gives valuable community information as well.
For some businesses, such as construction, the holidays are the start of a slow down period. The buying public is suddenly interested in only two things, getting Thanksgiving plans finalized and over with, and getting their holiday shopping done. With some creative marketing and promotion ideas, such as those above, you can leave your competition in the dust and make it one of your busiest times, and have lots of business as you slide into the new year.
