How To Gain (and Retain) Customers in the Holiday Shopping Season

Retail competition can be fierce at any time of the year, but during the holidays it can get downright intense. The rise of ecommerce and social media shopping, along with reopened brick and mortar retail businesses, gives 2021’s consumers more retail opportunities to choose from than ever before. With so much competition across so many channels, how can brands get their name and products out there to ensure they get their piece of the pie?

Here are a few ways to continue to attract new and returning shoppers and continue to engage long after the holiday cheer has ended. 

Tap into the power of email marketing

Email marketing is a powerful way for brands to promote themselves to existing and potential customers. When done effectively, email builds brand awareness, credibility, and strong customer relationships. It’s also a proven way to generate leads, drive sales, and boost website traffic.

The reason for this is simple: it works. For every dollar spent, email marketing generates $44 in ROI. Today, email marketing accounts for 7% of all eCommerce transactions, placing it behind only organic search as the most effective marketing channel.

One of the best aspects of email marketing is its cost effectiveness; all you need is a list of customers and subscribers and an email marketing service provider. While it is effective at any time of the year, personalized email campaigns during the holiday season are a great way to stay in front of your customers with products and promotions. Shoppers have come to expect this communication and it’s become a great vehicle to provide them the sales they area searching for, right to their inbox.

Get specific with dynamic retargeting 

In the midst of all of the holiday hustle and bustle, sometimes shoppers need a reminder to complete a purchase for items they have been eyeing. Dynamic retargeting can do just that by creating specific ads tailored to show specific products or services they viewed on your site.

Dynamic retargeting uses machine learning technology to analyze customer behavior and determine the creative elements that will nudge a customer to return to your website and make a purchase. Since 96% of site visitors will leave a website before buying anything, capturing those lost opportunities is crucial, no matter the season. 

While dynamic retargeting can benefit any business across all industries, it is especially useful for ecommerce businesses when connected to a data feed to access product catalogs. This allows not only the right product to be shown at the right time, but it also uses the most current inventory and pricing so shoppers have an ideal experience, keeping your brand top-of-mind now, and in the future.

Make optimum use of first-party data

With access to third-party data being phased out, marketers are learning to prioritize first-party data, and fast. First-party data is gathered or collected directly from their prospects and customers making it not only more accurate, but also less expensive. These details also allow better ability to predict and forecast behavioral trends and profiles and personas of potential customers. 

User details can be tracked through a variety of ways based on information provided such as email, phone, shopping profiles and purchase history, social media interactions, or website behavior. Then by using a customer relationship management (CRM) platform, information can be stored for marketing purposes.

CRMs also identify users who have opted-in with a previously-set cookie that dynamically updates forms and other data collection tools to capture new data. Over time, this builds rich first-party data profiles and creates a data pipeline that provides marketers with invaluable customer info to build highly targeted ad campaigns. When teamed with dynamic retargeting, first-party data can be an extremely powerful marketing tool at every stage of the sales funnel. 

Reward your loyal customers

It’s never a good idea to take your loyal customers for granted. To keep them coming back for more, show them a little goodwill at this giving time of year. By thinking up ways to keep loyal customers engaged over the holidays, you can ensure that your brand remains front-of-mind of your most loyal customer. Here are four ways to do just that.

Offer special discounts to loyal customers: Gaining new customers costs brands five times more than retaining those you already have, so it makes sense to offer loyal customers exclusive discounts on the things they buy the most. You can sweeten the pot by offering them an even bigger break when they refer family and friends, and again when those referrals make a purchase.

Treat your customers to rewards: Surprising your loyalists with unexpected rewards can keep customers engaged at any time of the year, but especially during the holidays. These perks can range from unexpected free shipping or added discounts at checkout, bonus points to rewards members, or free gift cards included in purchase deliveries. Rewards that surpri
se and delight can go a long way to boosting brand loyalty and strengthening a customer’s emotional connection to your brand. 

Send holiday greetings to current and past clients: Customers love to know they’re appreciated by the brands they love. Staying top of mind with your past and present customers can be as simple as sending them a personalized holiday wish and doing something special to thank them for their business. This can be in the form of a gift card or reward points, discounts on future purchases, or an interactive holiday e-card.

Create an engaging social media marketing campaign: With 4.48 billion social media users in the world, brands need to engage with their loyal customers on social sites they frequent. Brands can do this by creating a social media campaign around a specific hashtag that encourages customers to share images, videos, or other content that shows them using your products on their social media channels. Commenting on these posts creates engagement in both directions and shows customers that you care.

Keeping the momentum in the new year

Once the holidays are over, it’s important for brands to retain the new customers gained throughout the holidays and keep their existing customers interested in what’s to come in the new year.

The post-holiday season is the perfect opportunity for retailers to get the ball rolling on their plans for retaining customers in the coming year, especially given the influx of first-time shoppers that could become long-time customers. 

By following customer retention practises and maintaining due diligence with the above tips, January and beyond can still be the most wonderful time of year.