20 Tips For Launching A Winning Holiday Marketing Strategy

‘Tis the season for businesses to connect with customers and drive revenue. However, your marketing strategy requires more than just festive cheer to capture shoppers’ attention and foster brand loyalty.

Below, 20 Forbes Business Development Council members share their secrets to developing a well-crafted and effective holiday marketing strategy. Whether it’s creating personalized campaigns or getting ahead of the rush, these approaches can help your business make the most of this critical sales period.

1. Focus On Hyper-Personalization And Targeted Offers

Culturally, holidays are about showcasing gratitude by gifting and self-care. Your marketing strategy must build on this customer sentiment to be successful. Hyper-personalization and targeted marketing offers across email, social media and text should make up a core part of the holiday marketing strategy. Gift-size deals and dynamic pricing will go a long way in consumers feeling a sense of cheer. – Archana Rao, Life Work You Inc.

2. Identify The Emotions You Want To Emulate

Holidays bring out many emotions–joy, nostalgia, excitement and even stress. When creating a holiday marketing strategy, start by deciding what emotions you want consumers to feel when interacting with your campaign. By defining these emotional connections upfront, you can shape a campaign that resonates authentically and builds a stronger, more personal connection with your consumers. – Alvin Stafford, Think True

3. Make Value Your Top Priority

Focus on adding value rather than just offering discounts. Instead of price cuts, bundle your product with something special and personalized, like exclusive content, a live session or a bonus offer. This approach attracts loyal customers and maintains your brand’s value, creating long-term engagement beyond a quick holiday sales boost. – Naimeesha Murthy, Products By Women

4. Use Data As Your North Star

Remain agile and let the data guide you. Conduct deep analyses of your customer base, including visitation and purchase history to sense and respond to holiday needs. Leverage those insights and market knowledge, like the shift to value, to connect with consumers while they’re shopping. Tap AI and real-time measurement tools, experiment with creative concepts and optimize marketing efforts in flight to enhance ROI. – Michael Della Penna, InMarket

5. Start Launching Deals Prior To The Holiday Season

Stay ahead of the game. Launch a handful of daily or weekly targeted (customer and product) deals for a few weeks before getting into the holiday season. – Ruchir Nath, Dell Technologies

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6. Rely On Nostalgia And Inclusivity

Incorporate nostalgia and inclusivity to create truly captivating and impactful marketing campaigns. Nostalgia marketing, particularly effective during the holidays, has the power to elicit positive memories and emotions that can drive engagement and sales. Celebrate diversity through inclusive content to connect with a wider audience and evoke a strong emotional connection with your brand. – William DeCourcy, AmeriLife

7. Put Your Effort Into Early Planning

A successful holiday marketing strategy starts with early planning and personalization. By segmenting your audience and tailoring content to their interests, you create more meaningful connections. This not only boosts engagement but also increases conversions during the peak shopping season when competition for attention is fierce. – Robert Mendoza, Lazer Media

8. Ensure Product Details Are Consistent Across Channels

Despite recent rate cuts, many consumers are likely to spend less this holiday season. As consumers become pickier about spending, pre-purchase product experiences become critical. Holiday marketing strategies must ensure product details are exhaustive and consistent across channels and customer reviews are readily available–guaranteeing that the products they receive match expectations of what they ordered. – Kristin Naragon, Akeneo

9. Encourage Emotional Decision-Making Without The Rush

Previously, the holiday season was all about creating that rush-to-decision and exclusivity, but I believe marketing in general over the years has upped its game and the pressure crafting techniques do not work that efficiently with the changing global dynamics. So, it still centers on emotional decision-making while providing more opportunities to rationalize that decision. That is the ideal combination. – Mustansir Paliwala, EQUANS

10. Put More Focus On Marketing Efforts Around Thanksgiving

I advise clients to get ahead of the Christmas holiday rush, where marketing can often get lost amid heavy competition. Instead, I encourage focusing on Thanksgiving, a unique opportunity to express genuine gratitude to clients. By shifting efforts to Thanksgiving, companies can stand out, foster client appreciation and build stronger relationships before the holiday marketing frenzy begins. – Ryan Dohrn, Sales Training World

11. Launch A Cause-Driven Marketing Campaign

One differentiated tip for launching a successful holiday marketing strategy is to launch a cause-driven marketing campaign. Many consumers are more conscious of giving back during holidays. Cause-driven campaigns create an emotional connection, encouraging purchases not just for the product but for the impact it has. Real-time campaign updates further engage and inspire customers. – Salice Thomas, Wipro Limited

12. Leverage Your Data From Past Holiday Seasons

Analyze customer data and segment your audience based on past holiday shopping behaviors and preferences; you can tailor your offers to resonate with specific groups. Start early to ensure that your brand stays top of mind as customers plan their holiday purchases. Personalization not only increases engagement but also enhances the likelihood of conversions and being relevant and timely. – Elizabeth Kiehner, Nortal

13. Take Customer Preferences Into Account

Personalize your offers and messaging based on customer preferences. By using data insights to tailor promotions, product recommendations and even timing, you create a more meaningful connection with customers. Personalization not only makes your brand stand out during the crowded holiday season but also boosts engagement, increasing the chances of conversions and customer loyalty. – Nandhakumar Purushothaman, Mphasis Limited

14. Gamify Your Marketing Campaigns

Gamify your holiday marketing campaigns by incorporating elements of competition, rewards and challenges to incentivize and captivate your audience. Consider offering “12 Days of Surprises” that deliver deals or gifts daily. This gamified approach can sustain engagement, as customers return daily to see what’s next, boosting long-term interest and purchases. – Scotty Elliott, AmeriLife

15. Offer Time-Sensitive Discounts

Offer time-sensitive discounts on products in high demand during the holiday season. Analyze past data to identify top sellers and peak demand periods. For instance, during the holidays we’ve discounted a product we’ve found is popular for fundraising events. Understanding consumer behavior allows you to focus marketing efforts on positioning the right products effectively. – Raviraj Hegde, Donorbox

16. Focus Your Marketing Efforts Around The Right Holidays

A big part of success with your holiday marketing campaigns is choosing the right holidays. Brands might put too much emphasis on the most widely observed holidays, overlooking opportunities that local celebrations present. Understanding your customer segments through localized data-driven research is crucial to tap into the regional markets through highly targeted holiday campaigns. – Tomas Montvilas, Oxylabs

17. Personalize Your Campaigns Based On Your Customers’ Culture

Personalize the campaign. Many large segments of the population celebrate different holidays or festivals. To be successful, knowing your target customer’s holiday habits (could be religion-based, sports-based or ethnicity-based) and preferences are super important for an effective marketing strategy and campaign. – Srinivas Vadhri, Kestone Integrated Marketing Solutions

18. Make Your Customers Feel Special

Create “surprise and delight” moments for your audience. Send unexpected, personalized holiday messages or gifts that feel thoughtful rather than promotional. A small, personal touch makes people feel valued and emotionally connected to your brand, which is often more memorable than flashy campaigns. – Richard Lindhorn, VivoAquatics Inc.

19. Focus Your Marketing Efforts On Every Channel

Adopt a multichannel approach. By engaging customers through social media and email, you can reach a broader audience and connect with clients on their preferred platforms. This strategy maximizes visibility and enables tailored messaging that resonates with different segments. In a competitive holiday market, utilizing multiple channels helps us stand out and effectively boosts sales. – Vera Maslova, L-Charge

20. Leverage Humor In Your Communications

In a more remote world, humor has always been my key to communication. I love to make people laugh. For our holiday marketing strategy, we plan on something lighthearted, funny, inclusive and, most importantly, not a sales pitch but something genuine. – David Strausser, Fonseca Advisers