Have you started thinking about Christmas yet?

By Fiona Humberstone, 2nd Jul 2010

I do realise that we’re in the hottest week of the year and to be talking about Christmas is probably going to get me lynched, but if you sell a product or service that might be suitable as a gift, then you need to be thinking about Christmas right now.

Izzy and I spent a fantastic day at the Sheer Luxe Christmas conference yesterday in Fulham and have come away fully inspired from the wonderful speakers and delegates at the event. And once I’ve trawled through my twenty-odd pages of notes I’ll be sharing many of the gems that came out of yesterday’s conference. But the theme of the event was getting ready for Christmas and for retailers and e-tailers, the time to start thinking about Christmas is now, particularly if you want to get some PR in the glossies.

So if you run a gift or retail business, what sorts of things should you be thinking about in preparation for Christmas?

Start by thinking about your Christmas objectives. What do you want to sell? What are your bestsellers and what will you focus on this year? What lessons did you learn from last year and what resource do you have to throw at this?

How do you need to adapt your tone of voice to the Christmas market? If you sell Pashminas you’re probably selling to women most of the year, but come Christmas you’ll be selling to men. What do they need to know about how your product will make the perfect gift?

When will you start your Christmas campaign and what collateral do you need? Consider a microsite or adapting the design of your homepage to attract the Christmas shoppers. And don’t overlook the importance of printed literature. E-marketing makes promoting your product or service much simpler, but add a catalogue into the mix and you’ll see your success rate shoot through the roof – by up to 40%.

Plan ahead – all of this takes time. And a lot of it. Get planning now while you still have time, because as soon as the children go back to school Christmas will be in the air.

Bear in mind that pay per click search terms will cost you a lot more during the Christmas season as the keywords become more competitive so try and come up with creative ways to promote your business. Consider improving the content of your site to attract and retain visitors.

Email marketing is going to be essential in maximising your chances of success – and now is the time to start building your list. Pop-ups offering incentives to visitors who leave your their email and first name are a great way to add quality data to your list – especially if you offer money off a first purchase and ask them to double-opt in.

And finally plan some tactical campaigns to add into your strategic marketing mix. Don’t stop doing the brand awareness marketing you’re already doing, but think as well about how you can promote your Christmas offering. All of this takes time, but it will be worth it.

Have a fantastic weekend. I think I know what I’m going to be doing…