In most industries, the holiday season is the most profitable time of the year. Businesses work all year to have a holiday marketing strategy in place by November. Holiday marketing has changed quite a bit over the years and many businesses are still trying to use outdated tactics. If your business is part of an industry that depends on the holiday season for success, then the following tips can help you prepare your marketing strategy for the holidays.

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The holiday shopping season has typically begun the day after Thanksgiving but in recent years many stores are opening their doors on the evening of Thanksgiving Day. It’s not uncommon to see businesses setting up their Christmas displays on the first of November immediately after Halloween has passed. By late summer early fall you should already be thinking ahead towards the holiday season. Make sure you’re stocking up on merchandise that’s sure to be a big seller and hire seasonal help if needed.

Target separate events

Don’t make the mistake of lumping all of the holidays into one. Christmas and New Years are the two big ones but Kwanzaa and Hanukkah might be big in your area as well depending on demographics. Don’t forget to take into account days that might be significant just locally like the last day of the semester for school kids. Each of these are separate days that can be used for special sales or events to get more foot traffic and boost sales. In addition to holding separate sales, approach each of them differently since they apply to different demographics with different interests.

Use mobile marketing

Mobile marketing is one of the most effective channels you have to reach customers during the holidays and throughout the year. If you don’t already have an SMS campaign, start one. It’s a great way to build a loyal customer base and reward them for being your customers. SMS is also ideal for time sensitive communications like flash sales or new stock of a popular item that has sold out during a big sale since 90% of text messages are opened and read within three minutes of being received. You can take advantage of geolocation technology built into every phone by sending push notifications to customers who get within a certain distance of your business.

Carry over into January

Sales don’t have to drop off completely after New Year’s day. If you have leftover stock from your holiday sales, you can use January as a month to sell of that extra stock at a steep discount. January is a time for New Year’s resolutions and back to school as well so think about how you can use these to your advantage to stay profitable even after the holiday season is officially over.