Each quarter I send active and some past clients a private newsletter with unique marketing tips and techniques. A lot of people have asked me about them, especially when they move onto new companies, so I’m sharing some of the ones I sent to clients over the weekend below.
Each client gets more details catered towards their needs, so I modified the information below to match almost any company B2B and B2C.
- Georgia
- SF and Tech sector
- Ad spends
- Hannukah
- 4 Weeks Between Holidays
Georgia
Georgia is in a run-off election. That means ad space is going to skyrocket, if it hasn’t already.
Three action items here:
- Evaluate traffic patterns from 2 years ago when the last run-off season happened.
- Last year didn’t have the run-off so the ad spends didn’t skyrocket.
- If ad spends increase, block GA and focus on your other high converting markets until the run-off is over.
- Don’t forget to continue using email, SMS and non-paid media marketing for GA, or offer specials to the “not-converted” list since customer acquisition is more expensive right now, but win-back and retargeting can be reasonable.
SF and Tech Sector
The layoffs are causing some financial panic amongst people that would normally be open to spending on non-necessary items in SF, Silicon Valley and to an extent NYC and other hubs.
If you see a downtrend in conversions, but not traffic, focus your paid media on complementary cities like Austin, Chicago and even DC where the layoffs are lower and you have the same type of audience. SF and tech should bounce back, but right now the shock factor is strong, and spending may decrease even though interest remains intact.
Ad Spends
This is the perfect time to look at ad spends from two years ago. We have a very similar social and political environment. The financial atmosphere is a bit different, but more people are back to work than during covid, giving people more wiggle room to spend.
Check for ad spend, customer acquisition, and total conversions in:
- Cities, Suburbs, Rural areas
- Average income and job type, or industry, and by zip code and region
- If customers are likely to be single or married
Pro-tip: Compare this to your current ad targeting and combine with the stats from tip two and the last two years. By doing this you’re better targeting for where you found new customers during a run-off and 4 week holiday season. This is a similar time frame to compare to vs. just hoping the same tactics you use year round will work.
With that said, many companies are scaling back with a fear of recession. This could lower prices for ad spend making spaces more affordable for you.
Hannukah
Hannukah falls over Christmas and Kwanzaa this year. If you’re running campaigns for Hannukah, Christmas and Kwanzaa, all three overlap which is not the norm.
Check and update your:
- Last day to ship
- Marketing messaging
- Email campaign dates
In many instances you can save time by doing the work once and applying it to all holidays because of the overlap. It may not be a couple of days saved, but it is definitely a few marketing, IT and operations hours. That time can be used for a breather, to build more campaigns, or celebrate that you’re still alive with co-workers over an impromptu coffee break or happy hour.
4 Weeks Between Holidays
This year is identical to last year where there are four weeks between Black Friday and Christmas. This likely means sales will pick up strong and slowly fizzle off.
During 5 week years, sales start strong and then slow, then pick right back up. Because it is a four week year, you have to have your A game on. There’s less time for last minute campaigns, you don’t have the extra sales weeks (green Monday and then the following) and you lack the breathing room between Black Friday and Amazon’s days of deals.
It’s more intense work with less breathers, but it also means the season is over faster so you can get to the finish line and have that well deserved time off.
Have a happy holiday season everyone and if you found this helpful, I’d love a share on social media.
