Profit in any kind of industry requires many forms of investment, from financial to the investment of time, strength and patience. The seed of the investments will, with time, bloom into the work and profit that were distant dreams in the beginning.
Of course, financial obstacles are the first ones that make things seem impossible, but creativity and will transform any budget into tangible reality.
One of the most important factors and breaking points in a business is finding the name of a growing company in the eyes of targeted customers or consumers and the path to this is, above all, marketing.
Marketing is a phenomenon that comes down to several psychological mechanisms, but it is a two-way street coming from the source of the business, and, in other words, from the idea that is manifested through the advertisem*nt.
The other end of the street is the reception of the clientele which reflects the success, or the failure of the given conception.
Having this in mind, maybe the more important factor than money is the idea that corresponds with the current needs that rule the market combined with creative and applicable innovation.
The center of marketing in any field of work nowadays pretty much comes to the internet and social media, given that they are the universal modern source of information in general.
Naturally, many other useful mediums of putting any work “out there” shouldn’t be taken out of sight, but the reality is that digital marketing is probably the ticket for shaping an image that will stand out from the rest of… well, everyone and everything that has already been seen and most likely won’t come to life in shiny wings again.
1. HOLIDAYS ARE A GREAT TIME TO ADVERTISE DIGITALLY
The most important turnover in the flow of information was the genesis of mass media. It started with newspapers, made its way through film and TV, and is now reaching its peak in the form of the internet which almost became an equivalence of information source.
A company, or even a store, is almost unimaginable if it doesn’t have a life online.
Nowadays, by researching how vivid that life is, customers form an image about the influence, strength and even reliability and trustworthiness of that company.
Hence, thinking about organized marketing; a stylized site, a Facebook and even an Instagram account are a must-go. Here are some tips on Instagram marketing for your viewing pleasure.
Create or update your website
Time is money for the customer, as it is for the salesman.
Having in mind that the influence of internet utterly changed the consumption of time and gave the rule of efficiency, it wouldn’t be a waste to hire a Web Designer who will provide an inviting, efficient web page that will save customer’s time.
Good organization in this matter is a sign of rapport with the client and as an echo of general maturity and responsibility of the firm.
Web designing isn’t that complicated of work, so even an IT student with some experience can get the job done at a reasonable price.
You can hire great designers at freelance platforms such as Upwork.
What is crucial here is to manifest efficiency, style, vision, availability, and originality that will just be delivered visually.
The truth is that a customer searching for the desired content knows, not even in minutes, but in seconds, whether what they’re looking at is promising or not. And these few seconds can mean further cooperation, or them just moving on to the next option.
Therefore, font, style, and even colors and the choice of words on the screen must not be underestimated factors in one’s success.
Naturally, there are two sides to every coin. This “trick” has become more of a rule of thumb that everyone is aspiring to master, so it is not easy to stand out in the sea of alluring offers.
The good thing is that joining the competition means being a part of a unique group where participants learn from one another and inspire each other. Ideas and the general picture of what to do and what not to do can come just by looking at what others are doing.
Cooperation is another aspect of doing any business and it can be just as rewarding when it comes to marketing. The beginning of a mutual understanding can be (partly) reached through digital communication, as was explained, but it is, of course, just a beginning.
More will be said about this important factor in a separate section.
Develop social media accounts
Facebook and Instagram, but also Twitter, Tumblr, even Snapchat offer great and easy ways of communication. It goes from just revealing your goals and ideas and being noticed for them, to even an option of direct messages which can be used for reaching out to others, getting constructive advice and exchanging experience and ideas.
This can even lead to a more long-term understanding and cooperation, but, as it goes for everything, digital communication is just a start that can provide a range of possibilities in reality.
The social network can go crazy on holidays, but in all that jam, everyone benefits somehow in a sea of discounts. When buying, hiring, selling or marketing don’t forget the rule of affordable quality.
Create a Blog
Working on social media and a website is a great way for marketing oneself, but a blog provides a place for the customers’ voice and discussion.
It can be one of the most reliable and relevant sources of feedback and also a way of direct communication with the clients.
Confidence can be built by being available at all times (which is impossible, but, the more the better), but above all by being honest. Announcing online hours in which the questions will be answered by an admin in a short period of time can’t be a bad idea.
During the holidays, the number of online active hours can increase as well as the general engagement in the work and communication with the clients.
When it comes to online marketing, the things to always bear in mind are style, originality, being up to date, building trust, making connections as well as learning from fellow organizations.
2. COME UP WITH A HOLIDAY – OPTIMIZED SLOGAN
The profound effects that a slogan can have in marketing are mirrored in some of the most memorable slogans that marked periods and movements in history.
“One People, One Nation, One Leader” – Nazi’s party slogan
“Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” – French revolution
“Dare to know” (Sapere Aude.) / “Have the courage to use your own understanding” – the motto of the enlightenment movement
Many more simple phrases were making their way through the minds of millions of people leaving an immense impact on humanity. It is an example of the strength and the meaning that a catchy, effective compound of words can carry.
Likewise, an impressive and (most importantly) a catchy slogan can spark a flood of talk and conversation about the desired subject.
This is done every day and it’s a very real way in which the media function. Marketing of product, commercials, fashion, “can’t miss” offers – it is a completely new flourishing life sphere for the top of the line businesses.
Every one of them has probably come up with that line at the end of the commercial that any man with a TV in the living room unconsciously knows.
Even though flashy, almost invasive approaches that are popular do tend to win one over, they are becoming more and more disliked. People are tired of overloaded inboxes, annoying “skip in 5 seconds” ads, etc.
It is becoming harder and harder to shine in all that flash which is therefore slowly losing its purpose. The intake of everyday trash-advertisem*nt that is coming through the screen is starting to be seen as unbearable, and the flashy method is slowly drying up.
New means are needed to catch attention and they can be as fruitful as much as easier and respectful of the targeted audience.
A simple thought-provoking phrase is seen on Facebook, then again on Tumblr, then heard somewhere in a random place can start a web of research that will potentially lead to the primary goal – higher selling rate that will most probably even continue even after holidays.
The creativity of slogan-making is endless, it can be enriched with the widest imaginable spectrum of connotations from the symbols that never die, like the peace from the hippie movement, to the more contemporary topics like feminism, etc.
The downside is (especially with the current topics) that some will approve, others will not, so another idea, safer but harder to pull off, is to choose a universal theme like love, family, home. In that case, the focus is the wholesome emotional spark that will be ignited and draw the percipient in.
3. “ONE TIME ONLY” OR ”CAN’T-MISS” DEALS
The point of holiday marketing is standing out from the rest of the year (as well as from the other sellers). In other words, to make something different that will delight, even amaze “the audience”.
It’s hard to surprise when most things have already been seen in some form, therefore good old simple major discounts pulled off in the right way can leave an immense impact on the overall selling even beyond the holiday time.
Offering one of the best newbie products with a generous discount along with a small free already well-sold standard product can be a delicious bait that few will manage to resist.
In this way, new quality products can be boosted to the top of the market under a mask of an irresistible offer concerning an already popular sell.
Deals must be constructed with a mindset of penetrating the customer’s mind and finding them think:
“They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse”.
Joke aside, these kinds of offers can’t appear profitable for the seller in a short run. However, if done right, the payoff can be immeasurable, but figures at the end of the year are the ones that will show what intuition doesn’t know.
As an entrepreneur, investment tactics and choices are among the most significant prerequisites that will determine the fate of the work.
Marketing itself is a good investment, but the profit will be higher in proportion to the quality of the ideas and their realization.
Being in these shoes, one must plan to spend more in one phase of the development of an idea, or a project, just as a planted seed needs watering.
An additional way to save money in this department is by crossing creative and visionary paths with other companies and businesses.
This is a very delicate process that was already mentioned above related to the digital form of marketing. But, as said, only as a preview to a completely individual component to which the next section will be dedicated.
4. B2B COOPERATION
The key when it comes to this matter isn’t in the similarity of nature of the paired works (food and fashion industry can cooperate for instance), but rather in the similarity of interests and goals.
Finding a mutual language can go as far as giving birth to a whole new business in the long run. Talking on a scale of a season, the best thing is THE offer of the year which will flourish from the initial investment of both sides to the profit in the value of the popularity that the offer reached.
The example of this kind of offer would be getting free holiday traveling tickets by buying a car – or, getting a discount to a regular car price by paying a certain amount for a traveling deal.
Or, one of the basic ones would be providing a double discount conditioned by having bought products from both companies.
These kinds of combinations are infinite and can be limited only by the bounds of mutual understanding, being realistic about the financial possibilities of the targeted clientele, and of course, the innovative mind of the duo, or the trio, that is making business.
In some cases, if the cooperating names are already influential, the very seeing them coming together can be a growing excitement.
The most common field of this occurrence is the music industry where people travel across the world to catch a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Similar passion can be sparked in almost any industry, with consumers in the place of fans.
A commercial showing two names can, and in most cases will provoke twice as many people than a single shown name would. An explosive headline can hook the public in a blink of an eye.
5. HOLIDAY ART AND DESIGNS
Just basing the current marketing theme on the colors and symbols of the ongoing holiday can be a great way to fulfill the expected needs of the potential buyers.
During the holidays, some of the best sales are usually whole sets of designs based on holiday vibes. Making versions of famous products and offers in the spirit everyone feels in that moment of the season can’t be a bad idea.
Customers intuitively expect the industries to correspond with their needs and not fail the expectations. This can be applied to any ongoing topic that is considered on a mass scale.
Decorating profiles online and stores according to the holidays is a “can’t miss” because holidays are the times that connect people on broad scales.
Caring to shape a selling space around the holiday motives gives a wholesome traditional touch to any kind of work and makes shopping feel like being home – comfortable and generous.
Holiday art applied to the design of products aired at that time, or used for the temporary digital look of the catalogs, or combined altogether, can build a deep feeling of trust and even friendship over the years.
Selling, and buying, becomes more of a tradition and more a transaction of pleasure and trust than money.
6. GIVEAWAYS
Old but gold. Organizing a creative, engaging giveaway has never been easier. The most fun and popular ones usually take place on Instagram, sometimes on Facebook, but whatever medium used, this is the thing that will most likely provide promotion that goes beyond the already established, usual audience.
Giveaways almost ensure new people getting in touch with the sold product. This is maybe one of the best and even the cheapest methods of marketing when the investment and the results are compared, even though they often can’t be precisely pinpointed.
Anyhow, a single giveaway entails endless sharing of the desired product times the number of the people that are in the game.
It all comes down to having at least a three-digit number of people stumbling upon the giveaway which will, most importantly, represent the whole business or a company which was unknown until then.
The object in the center of a giveaway should be representative and chosen towards the aim to attract as new many followers and intrigue as many friends of already loyal customers. Because, of course, they are the first ones that will share the giveaway with their friends and family!
7. VALUE THE TRADITION!
Marketing is all about bringing the new audience in touch with the promoted work, but holidays are all about tradition so you need to know how to blend the two.
The most important form of tradition in the area of buying and selling is having customers who have been there since the beginning.
Saving the best discounts for the most loyal of the clientele is probably a better way of arranging discounts than exposing everything shiny and tempting as a “first time only” offer.
The “first time only” method can appear as irresistible, but it usually doesn’t bring customers that are interested in the long run. Trust is actually built in the completely opposite way – by providing the best to the best customers.
Respect is shown to the ones that most deserve it will subtly echo in the look and style of the whole company and build an impressive image.
In the sea of sales and markets, the consumers (the ones that get the real taste of the actual quality and treatment they get) are slowly developing a new sense, a real detector of bad, to-avoid-at-all-costs deals.
One of the first signs for these kinds of offers is too good to be true baits with the goal of getting new customers. The truth is that most of them probably regret their long lost money later on, and just being fooled. After all, those once bitten will hardly buy it again…
Therefore, the most real way to retain customers, in the long run, is building trust. Creating attractions that will make an acute buzz doesn’t bring profit in the long run because the promotion will be used and most of the customers will move on to the next best deal.
It isn’t easy to choose a reliable offer, especially nowadays, so once again arises a need for the old tradition of buying in the comfort of trust.
Granting humble privileges and discounts to loyal customers who are more of a family to the business (in a way in which loyal fans are to the adored band) shows the mutual respect that is now longed for more than ever.
Markets are deprived of the very trust and respect that should be cherished above all, and these two could be the main idea that will fuel a commercial or a promotion.
When in doubt, keep to the basic marketing psychology in order to ensure success.
CONCLUSION
Making successful marketing in any form is a rather delicate process that has more to do with the consumer- provider relationship and psychology of the masses (which is the most important factor for any form of marketing in general), than with the given budget or means of realization.
The World Wide Web has become the fruitful land which can bring to life any creative idea for a reasonable price, or even free.
Despite the cons of this kind of availability of information, now, more than ever, marketing has become one of the easiest paths to progress.
If done right – in a way that represents not only the shiny façade of a vacant interior but the real and honest motto that will be proven beyond the words of salesmen on the screen – marketing can still be used as a top way of maintaining and increasing the rate of success.
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