Unpopular Opinion: You Should Already Be Planning for the Holidays
Cue the dramatic eye rolls:
“Are you serious? It’s still summer! Why the heck would I think about Q4 promos now??!”
Look, you can wait and then panic-produce a mishmash of half-baked promos while you’re knee-deep in everything else: ordering inventory, juggling staff PTO, navigating back-to-school chaos, and trying to keep your personal holiday life from turning into a Hallmark meltdown. Oh, and don’t forget the other plot twists we can never predict.
Did that just spike your anxiety? Good. I never claimed to be a nice marketing partner. It’s literally in the name. I’m here to be real with you.
So, let’s get our heads out of the pool floaties and start mapping things out. Here’s what I want you to tackle next week after you’ve had your July 4th fun:
Review Last Year’s Performance
Yep, it’s numbers time… everyone’s least favorite frog to eat. But buck up, kiddo. If you’ve got data from the past two or three years, chef’s kiss. Let’s look for patterns. Hell, chuck that data into ChatGPT and let it do the heavy lifting (remember this blog on working smarter?).
Which promotions or discounts drove the most sales?
What emails actually got clicks?
Which social posts lit up your engagement?
What weeks had the highest leads, site visits, orders, appointments?
Review What You Did Last Year
Nothing like seeing the big picture to knock the cobwebs out of your memory. My favorite move? Pin everything - emails, ads, promos - on a wall or a giant digital whiteboard. Then ask yourself:
Was it cohesive?
Did your messaging make sense?
Did you blend into the crowd?
Did it align with your brand and your customers?
Spy on Your Competitors
Some folks don’t like competitor analysis, but let’s be real: your customers are comparison-shopping. You should be, too.
Scroll back at their social posts
Dig up their emails (if you’re not on their list, consider this your permission slip)
Use Google tools or other free analytics to see what else they were doing
Did they host events?
What promos ran, and when?
Deep breath. I know this is the heady stuff, but trust me, you’ll sleep so much better if you get these pieces dialed in before the fireworks are even cold.
Oh, and shameless plug time: If you’d rather not wrangle all this solo, email me!
I’ve got a Holiday Blitz package ready to help you tackle everything above and craft a killer plan of attack for the upcoming gift-giving season.
