We’ve all heard this saying before and, while it isn’t necessarily completely true, it can certainly hurt your business if you fail to plan. Think about when you walk into a supermarket – Easter eggs are available almost immediately after New Year. Halloween decorations appear right after your summer holiday and Christmas begins in September. So, are you ahead of the game when it comes to seasonal planning?
Halloween
I’m convinced Halloween gets bigger and bigger every year. While we may not have spooky themed products or services available for our customers, we can certainly make the most of this huge event.
Do you sell makeup? Planning a series of looks, photos and videos is a great way to push your products. Everyone loves a good Halloween look. In the run up, many people will be searching for inspiration, so make sure you are visible to them.
Black and orange are widely considered to be ‘Halloweeny’ colours. Check your products to see if you can create a theme. (For example, can you offer 10% off all orange products?) What about skincare? You could try a play on masks or looking scary. Whatever you choose, make sure you have a plan in place.
Black Friday & Cyber Monday
Black Friday is the biggest shopping day in the world. How many videos have you seen of people pushing and shoving to get their hands on the best deals? For network marketers and small business owners, Black Friday can be massively lucrative – you just need to make sure you have a plan.
Of course, everyone is aware of Black Friday, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work on building excitement. Social media is such a great tool for this. Give people hints and teasers about what you might be offering, and entice them to follow you and check back in.
After Black Friday comes Cyber Monday. This is simply a marketing term to encourage customers to shop online. You’ve probably seen some of the deals Amazon promotes for Cyber Monday. If you have an online store, this is another awesome opportunity to encourage people to buy from you.
Show them that you have what they want. If you get it just right, the money you make from Black Friday and Cyber Monday might just cover your own Christmas shopping.
Christmas
I started planning my Christmas gift packages last month. I like to know exactly what I’m going to offer, so I can get on top of my marketing plan. Seasonal planning is vital in network marketing and Christmas is the biggest event we have to prepare for. Some of the things you can consider:
- Gift packages
- Gift wrapping orders
- Personal shopping service
- Themed offers
- Gift cards / vouchers
- Cross promotion and teaming up with other businesses
- Online parties and events
- Fayres and table top events
Make sure you know exactly what you’ll be doing in the run-up to Christmas. It’s a busy time of year for anyone so, as a business owner, being organised is key. Have a plan for events, social media posts, offers and anything else you intend to do.
New Year
Once Christmas is out of the way, let’s look to the new year. There are two things people really think about at this time of year: sales shopping and New Year’s Eve. If you can offer some bargains at this time of year, your customers will have the chance to fall in love with your products and may come back for more.
You should also think about New Year’s Eve parties and events. Consider what people will be looking for – a new outfit, makeup, accessories, party decorations, food and drink.. what do you offer that you can really push at this time of year?
Remember, there’s only a week between Christmas and New Year, and most people aren’t even aware what day of the week it is during the festive season. Make sure you know exactly what your activities will be, so you don’t miss any opportunities.
What are you waiting for? Grab your diaries, notebooks and planners and let’s get to work on our seasonal planning. This is an amazing time of year for business owners. Let’s go and smash the rest of 2019.
