In October you did some research on which products and designs your (potential) customers like, and this is how you optimised your shop for gift seekers. Now the time has come to do some concrete planning for the imminent Christmas business. Communication, information, and call-to-action are key to sound planning as this is the best way of fostering and enlarging your fans and customers – your community.
1. Virtual Advent calendar
A varied and informative calendar for the time of Advent e.g. on Facebook will create additional value for your customers. And it provides a great space for promoting your products.
But you should tread carefully: 24 “thread-bare” product placements will not work. If you know what your community is interested in, you should post informative graphics, photos, little stories, comics and articles from the press. About twice a week you can promote a product, and it would be a good idea to offer a reduced one. You could reduce your commission for a few days or design a new product with an item that we have on sale.
This first 7 – 10 days of your Advent calendar should be very well planned. It is also important to pay attention to the feedback you get each day to plan the remaining days. A great occasion will be 21 December: Doomsday. Your followers could e.g. vote on which event they think is most likely to happen. For the Sundays during Advent you could do a little sweepstake. The winner should be chosen pretty swiftly afterwards. Please note: Facebook does not like contests such as “We pick the winner from all those posting a photo”. A better idea would be to choose the user whose comment gets most of the ‘likes’. And you can make your planning easier by using a function that allows for scheduling your posts ahead of time.
You should announce your advent calendar by the end of November.
2. Ordering deadlines
It is vital that you let your customers know about the ordering deadlines for Christmas. Facebook and Twitter work well to announce these, as do the banners that you can put up in your shop. If you like, you can also create a Christmas FAQ section. Here your customers can find answers to questions such as “When do I need to order/pay at the latest?” or “Can you gift-wrap my order?” or “Do you have any gift vouchers?” Your customers should also find information on return and exchange policies. Another nice feature is using a Christmas countdown on your website or in your shop.
3. Cooperation
Ask people you know who run a website or Spreadshirt partner shop to collaborate with you. A banner exchange would be the easiest method, and you can also promote each other in your newsletters, in the Advent calendar or on Facebook. You can take turns posting, and you can refer to the posts of the other one.
We’ve created a checklist for you that contains the most important steps you should undertake to make your Christmas business a success. This will help keep track of things during the turbulent Christmas season.
And as people will be looking for gifts during the time preceding Christmas, you can make use of this by making well-targeted suggestions for gifts. If you become active and create a sound network of customers, friends and followers, your chances of making the most of the season will be THE basis for sustainable success.
