The holiday season is a period when businesses experience extra pressure because of last-minute deadlines, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Crafting an impactful holiday marketing plan can be daunting, akin to searching for a polar bear in a snowstorm. With a lot on your plate, we can help you streamline your holiday marketing automation tasks with effective strategies.
Automate Marketing Tasks This Holiday 2023
Automate Your Customer Support
Michael Branover of Branover Contractors Inc. said, asking your customer service team to work during the holidays can be challenging, and it’s essential to provide them with time off to be with their families. However, this does not mean that addressing customer inquiries has to stop completely during the holidays.
Implementing business process automation enables you to remotely address any inquiries using cloud-based customer support. This software type provides a customer self-service portal that simplifies information retrieval for customers and enables them to create support ticket requests. This allows you to address concerns without direct contact, even when you’re on holiday.
Email Automation
This can be as simple as setting up an automatic out-of-office reply with your email provider. It lets people know when they can expect a response or how to reach you. However, going a step further can help you maintain a connection with your customers, which is crucial even during the holiday season.
James Owen of Click Intelligence said, by using email automation, you can send personalized emails to website visitors and current customers. These personalized emails can deliver customized content tailored to the interests of your audience. It keeps them engaged with your business even when you’re taking a break.
Another effective application of email automation is scheduling a weekly or monthly newsletter. This feature allows you to send special holiday greetings, express gratitude to clients for their support throughout the year. It even shares upcoming plans for the next year.
According to Campaign Monitor, ‘Globally, Fridays see the highest email open rates (nearly 19%), compared to the lowest open rates (17%) on Saturdays’.
“50% of people buy from marketing emails at least once per month.”
Sales Force
Automate Holiday Email Calendar
John Hughes of Electrician Shield said, by planning holiday emails well in advance, you can effectively coordinate your teams and set the tone with customers for a season of promotions, announcements, and communications. Deciding when to send marketing emails is a common dilemma, but strategically spacing them out can lead to a well-coordinated campaign that captures and maintains attention.
For instance, you could create an email marketing campaign strategy focused on significant sales events like Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and Boxing Day. Alternatively, you could launch a ‘Christmas’ promotional series that runs daily throughout December.
Schedule Posts for Social Media
Elisa Bender said she uses a post-scheduling tool for managing her social media. While we understand the appeal of manual posting, using a scheduling tool can greatly benefit you and your team, especially during this holiday season.
Many social media platforms provide free scheduling tools, including Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. If you’re looking to expand your options, there are also third-party software solutions such as Hootsuite, Supra Social Media Publisher, CoSchedule, Buffer, and Zoho Social that have received positive feedback from small and medium-sized business owners.
During the holiday season, retailers receives 18% more social messages compared to non-holiday months–Sprout Social
Schedule Blogs in Advance
By creating holiday content in advance, your team will have the opportunity to conduct research and brainstorm ideas for content that will captivate your audience. Now is the ideal time to begin writing blogs and scheduling them for publication at various times throughout the holiday season. While it may require some extra effort now, it will ultimately save you from the stress of creating and sharing valuable content with your followers at the last minute.
Additionally, consider establishing automated emails that are triggered by specific customer actions. For instance, you can generate emails that are sent when customers abandon their shopping carts, or establish loyalty emails that provide customers with a special discount when they reach a specific spending threshold at your store.
Automate ‘Thank You’ Series for New Subscribers
Customized welcome emails have an impressive 50% average open rate. It makes them a highly effective element of an email marketing automation strategy. In addition to expressing ‘Thank you’, your welcome email should provide valuable information and encourage subscribers to explore further.
For instance, consider the simple welcome email from a brand that offers home appliances. You could improve the email by including helpful tips, such as how-to guides. Even a small incentive, such as free shipping, can motivate seasonal shoppers to increase their spending by 30%.
According to Hubspot, “Thank you emails have an open rate of 50% and a click-through rate of 14%”.
Automate to Boost Your Holiday Sales
Plan and schedule your tasks in advance before customers go on a spending spree this holiday season. Automate key tasks like email, customer support, and posting on social media to sustain your holiday marketing strategies.
