As the holidays are now behind us and winter vacations come to an end, it’s time to start thinking about reaching your clients in the new year. The message you choose to send now can have a huge impact on your brand identity – and sales – all the way until next holiday season. With a little planning, you can make that impact hugely positive.
Timing
Good timing is the secret to any marketing campaign. Clients come with different demands, but hopefully yours are not the type to check their work inbox the day after the holiday. That means that once they are back in the office, they need a day or two to catch up on messages.
At this time, your clients are relaxed from their break, back into the swing of the work week, and ready to treat your offer with the respect and interest it deserves.
That doesn’t mean you need to wait to design your marketing strategy; instead, take advantage of your email scheduling tools to set the campaign up a few weeks in advance. The ideal time for your newsletter to hit inboxes is a few minutes before your client opens it. That way your email is at the top of their list and the first thing they read.
Tone
A post-holiday marketing campaign is also the first campaign of the new year; it may even be the first ad or email your client sees when they return from vacation.
Holiday advertising contains messages of tradition and sentimentality, but as the new year begins, the sentiment changes to one of growth and excitement. The first couple of months of the new year is the time to carry the good energy of the holidays forward, and inspire ambition and creative energy in your market. Messages should focus on movement and opportunity, and highlight the ways that your business can help your clients accomplish their goals.
It’s also important to make sure that the tone of your campaign falls into line with your brand identity. If your company relies on a small-business identity, consider maintaining the holiday energy with a cozy, winter themed campaign. Conversely, a tech company might want to spring into the new year with the sharpest, most professional campaign your marketing team can muster.
Taxes
Taxes are a certainty, and that means you can plan around them. No one wants to think about taxes immediately after the holidays, but a February deadline means work in January – and that can have a huge impact on a client’s willingness and ability to interact with a marketing campaign.
The way your business interacts with tax season depends on the market you’re in; accounting offices want to reach out to clients before the filing deadline, while retailers may want to offer a discount at the same time that potential customers are receiving their refunds. Clients will be grappling with payroll and document management, and may be interested in related services.
For business to business, tax season may actually be a bad time to push your clients. Instead, create a marketing campaign designed to remind readers of your services and strengthen your brand’s voice, all without creating sales pressure. As your clients finish filing the paperwork and start looking into their spring projects, they’ll think of your company first – especially if you schedule another marketing campaign.
Your post holiday campaign will likely contain little to no mention of taxes, especially if you run it at the very start of the new year. But one brand messages leads into the next, and planning your marketing moves in advance will allow you to create a cohesive strategy between campaigns.
Wrapping Up
A good marketing campaign relies on knowing what you want from your clients, and what they want from you. No matter what your campaign is, it will be far more successful if you know your brand identity, maintain a consistent voice, and pay attention to your client’s needs.
