I’m no fool. I know you’re probably thinking “it’s October, it’s too early to be thinking about marketing the festive season!” but now is exactly when you need to. As Kiwis, we’re notoriously laid back, and compared to many other countries, we don’t take Western holidays quite as seriously. Without taking the time to plan ahead and pick your targets, your marketing dollars could go the same way as Santa – straight down the chimney!

If it’s still the early days for your business, or perhaps you’ve changed your marketing model recently, it can be easy to get thrown off your schedule, and lose sight of all the consumer activity over the next two months. I’m here to break it down into 5 easy steps so you can stay prepared and profitable.

1.Plan ahead

All great work starts with a plan – we all know this! Before walking head first into the festive season, you need to first know what your business wants to get out of it. This doesn’t have to be as basic as simply increasing sales, it can be wider or more specific than just that. Perhaps you want to be seen as the most festive business in your industry? Or you want to increase employee morale? Perhaps you see it as a time to give back to your loyal clients? There are so many more reasons to plan for the festive season, but you won’t get anywhere until you have that plan to begin with.

2. Find your audience

No matter what plan you created from number 1. there’s always going to be a specific audience your plan will work best with, or should focus on. Obviously if it’s employee morale then your audience is your employees. If it’s about sales, perhaps it’s your customer base that makes all the Christmas purchases? Taking the time to identify and plan for your audience will mean the difference between marketing dollars being spent in the wrong places, or being utilised where they work best. Your audience during this season also might change, as many of these items, services, or even blog posts might be purchased (or read) by the gift-giver rather than the usual receiver, and therefore the demographic may be drastically different.

3. Boost your budget

People and businesses alike are spending more during this festive season, and to make the most of it, your business is going to want to follow suit. Whether it means saving up some of your marketing money from other periods, or simply biting the bullet, your marketing dollar will be best spent during this period, where people are desperately searching for a gifts online for an obscure uncle they’re aren’t sure they’ve even met, or the last Christmas ham within a 40-mile radius. If your business has a product, service, or story that the avid Christmas shopper, party-host, or blog-trawler could gain from, you’re going to need to find them, and find them first – and that takes a bigger, smarter budget.

4. Call in the experts

Have you been having trouble planning your silly season marketing campaign? Is it getting difficult to identify key audiences, or allocate budget wisely? It’s time to call in the experts. Whether that’s a digital marketing team (like us), or a professional decorating team for your office, where ever your festive plans are on the spectrum, to take the stress out of the stressful season, finding professionals who can guide you through the processes, and get you the best results can often be your greatest opportunity to enjoy Christmas just as much as everyone else.

5. Stay optimistic but not stressed

Hopefully this blog post hasn’t caused a blood pressure increase, if it has I’ve done a terrible job! The point of this has been to get you prepared, rather than overwhelmed. Remember, your marketing should be working for you, and instead of occupying your time worrying about sales, blogs, and industry metrics, this is precisely the time when you should instead take a step back, let the professionals handle it for you, and enjoy a nice glass of champagne over our lovely Summer holidays.

After all, you have earned it!