Your company can benefit from a Christmas in July promotion no matter if it is a B2C or B2B. The origins of this event are a bit unclear (was it due to the scorching heat of the summer, the lack of summer holidays to market around, or people longing for Christmastime and gift giving?). However it came to be, Christmas in July has worked its way into our culture and is now an acceptable and expected event of the summer.
No, a Christmas in July promotion doesn’t make you look desperate for sales and no, you don’t need to decorate with shorts wearing Santas.
Here are 5 Ideas to Get Your Creative Eggnog Flowing:
1. Host a Party
A promotion doesn’t necessarily mean you need to discount a service or product. If you have a retail store, getting people in the door or to your website is important to make a sale. If you offer a service, getting people to sign a contract is what it’s about. Consider hosting a Christmas themed party to entice people to browse and learn what you have to offer. Ideas to have at the party:
- Holiday cookies and snacks-free food!
- Face painting to keep kids busy while the parents shop.
- Christmas music in the background or a live performer tickling the ivories to set the mood.
- Christmas stocking raffle-gather names or update info for your CRM!
- Send invitations to past customers asking them to bring a colleague or friend and build your lead lists in the meantime.
2. Sell Off-Season Items
Is winter clothing, snowflake decorated housewares, or party decorations for winter holidays cluttering your stockroom? Or do you normally offer a service just for the wintertime such as a deep house cleaning or snow removal service? Consider displaying these items to clear them out of the way or offering a discount if customers sign up today for the service. You could even offer holiday rates now and perform the service today if the timing is right (we could all use a good house cleaning any time of the year). Lastly, I always chuckle at the promotion where your purchase could be free if it snows x inches on December x. It’s a gamble for both the seller and the customer.
Another idea surrounding off-season items is to use this time to anticipate needs of your customers come holiday time. Think of it as a trunk sale and gather orders to be delivered later or just survey your shoppers to understand their opinions.
3. Incentives to Return
A simple Christmas in July promotion is to offer a buy now, save later incentive to have the customer return. If the customer purchases an item during your Christmas in July promotion, you can offer them a discount card with active dates of Black Friday through New Year’s Day. There is no guarantee they will return but the offer is theirs to take.
4. Prep for Winter
Some people make a big to-do over the holidays with displays, feasts and festivities to wow the neighbors. That takes a lot of planning and you can take advantage of that by selling holiday decorations, party goods and catering services now. There is always a way to connect your business to the holidays. Promote your service or retail items to July shoppers with the obvious benefit of time & money savings, reduced stress and a helping hand.
5. Sense of Bargain
Does anyone still buy items at full price? Doesn’t it feel like there is always a markdown on the items you want or the services you need in some form or another? Don’t just make your Christmas in July another ordinary discount. Put a real sense of bargain on it. For example you may want to try a buy one, give one, save one promotion instead of the common BOGO. Or offer a rare high discount (think door buster/Black Friday) for July shoppers. Make your customers feel like they are getting a true bargain now and that good feeling will stick with them come the cold winter months.
Conclusion
If you need a summer promotion idea, consider Christmas in July. It has the potential to boost sales, clear out your old off-season inventory, offer insight to placing holiday orders, and it places your business in that warm fireplace glow of the holiday season.
If you need to bounce ideas off someone or you need help connecting your business to a Christmas in July promotion, Caffeine can lend an ear, contact us!