5 campaign strategies marketers should run after the holiday rush

After the holidays wind down, you still have an opportunity to drive customer outreach. So, we’ve pulled together five campaigns that you should run after the holiday rush.

Just because the holiday shopping season is over does not mean that you can’t still continue to make connections with your customers. In fact, the post-holiday season is the perfect time to take your marketing campaigns a step further as your brand is still top of mind. Even after a successful holiday marketing season, there is still ample opportunity to increase conversions and meet your customers’ continued needs.

Marketing after the holidays?

At first glance, marketing after the holidays may seem like an uphill battle. Yes, your customers likely just purchased your products, either for themselves or as gifts, however, your goal with a post-holiday marketing campaign shouldn’t be to increase immediate sales. Instead, this is the perfect time to build both continued awareness of your brand and develop customer loyalty.

You should be spending just as much time developing a bespoke marketing campaign after the holidays as you did before them. However, this is easier said than done, as the angle of approach for marketing after big shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday is going to be different than the strategies you may have implemented before these big consumer holidays. Fortunately, we’ve got some ideas on how to continue to reach your audience after the rush.

Keep your promotions going

Want a surprising fun fact? Christmas day garners 34% more shopping-related search traffic than Black Friday, one of the biggest consumer-related holidays in the U.S. Additionally, Boxing Day, or the day after Christmas, is one of the biggest shopping days in the UK, Australia, and Canada. People continue to shop long after the doorbuster sales of Black Friday, and even after the time for Christmas shopping is well over.

So to stay front of mind, you should continue to run curated promotions even if you just ran a series of holiday sales. Now, you don’t have to slash prices on the same products.  Look at other popular products in stock or great complementary products to those already purchased during the holiday season. Returning to full price after the holidays can be a jarring reality for some shoppers, especially when your competition is likely still running promos. From BOGOs and free shipping to boosting customer loyalty rewards points, there are a myriad of promotional campaigns worth running. Prolonging holiday promotional campaigns can work to incentivize a return to your brand, particularly if your customers are continuing to shop after the holidays.

Retarget and remarket your products

During the holiday rush, online window shopping is a common activity. Between abandoned carts and a surge in digital foot traffic, odds are you’ve encountered a plethora of new potential customers. The post-holiday season is the perfect time to engage all of those browsers, continuing to work towards the first purchase. You can connect to these ‘almost-conversions’ by launching retargeting and remarketing campaigns.

Utilize retargeting ads to re-engage with people who have previously interacted with your website. While these ad campaigns tend to have mixed responses from those who engage with them, you can mitigate negative reactions by optimizing your messaging and refining your target audiences. At the same time, establish remarketing campaigns that focus on people who have already purchased from your brand. These remarketing campaigns can drive continued brand awareness and loyalty by promoting complementary products or showcasing new items that they may be interested in. You can refine these campaigns by tapping into the power of a customer data platform (CDP) to gain deeper insights into your customers’ interests and needs.

Focus on social media

78% of consumers are more willing to purchase from a brand that they’ve interacted with on social media.This is a truth that is only becoming more prevalent as we continue to inhabit digital spaces. Use your social media platforms to develop a deeper connection with your audience. While you may not make a conversion right away, you can build greater loyalty with your customers, and a loyal customer will return to your brand time and time again whether it's before or after the holidays.

Social media strategy can come in many packages. From influencer marketing to social media events, you can drive customer engagement through multiple channels and we recommend that you rely on all of them that apply to your brand. Nowadays, social media is king, and earning attention in these channels can be incredibly beneficial in the long run.

Utilize cross-selling to inspire purchases

Odds are there is a segment of your audience that didn’t purchase everything they needed or wanted for the holidays. You can capitalize on that, by launching a cross-selling campaign focused on inspiring further purchases based on their holiday shopping experience. Did they buy a pair of hiking boots? Well, send them a promotion on hiking acessories. Did they pick up a set of kitchen knives? Offer them a cutting board to go along with the set.

Cross-selling can be highly effective when used properly, however, it helps to have a clear understanding of your different customer segments and their shopping behaviors. A poorly executed cross-selling marketing strategy can garner sour results, which means having the data on hand to make the most informed decisions is crucial.

Lean on customer data

After a successful holiday marketing campaign, you likely have an abundance of data on everyone who shopped with you or interacted with your brand or website. Now’s the time to put that customer data to good use. Everything from personal information to products purchased or browsed can play a role in gaining a better understanding of your customers, enabling you to meet their unique needs.

Using this data you can approach future campaigns with greater knowledge than before. Want to run an effective promotion? Thanks to your collected customer data, you know exactly what to promote and who to promote it to. Looking to showcase a new product line? After tracking holiday shopping activities, you have a better idea of who might be most interested in purchasing said new product. In the age of ecommerce, optimizing your data and utilizing it effectively can make or break any post-holiday marketing campaign.

How Lexer’s Customer Data and Experience platform can help

Regardless of whether it is before, during, or after the holiday season, Lexer’s Customer Data and Experience platform can help you make  the most out of the data you have on hand. Through Lexer, you can access detailed insights on the behavior of each individual customer so that you can ensure your post-holiday marketing strategies and campaigns are as effective as possible.

Use the calendar below to book a demo of Lexer's CDP-powered Customer Experience Tools and discover how you can enhance the way you connect with your customers after the holidays.