3 Ways Retailers Can Differentiate Themselves This Holiday Season
NOVEMBER 8, 2019| SpeedPro PremierCategories
Uncategorized‘Tis the season! It may be too early for consumers to deck the halls just yet, most retailers have already begun planning and advertising for the holiday shopping season.
As a retail business owner, developing an effective marketing strategy is crucial to capitalize on the holiday shopping rush – especially since the spike can easily count for 20 percent of your annual sales.
In-store signage and special promotions are tried-and-true tactics in retail marketing. However, in a highly fragmented and competitive industry, it can take more than a simple sale to stand out from the crowd.
Here are three ways you can differentiate your retail business from the competition while capturing additional demand – and attention – from holiday shoppers:
1. GUIDE CUSTOMERS THROUGH EVERY STEP OF YOUR STORE’S JOURNEY
During the holiday shopping season, a bland outdoor sign and several sparse window clings aren’t going to cut it – nor will they help you cut through the competition.
Instead, you should nurture customers throughout each stage of the buyer’s journey, engaging them at multiple key points throughout the store. This not only fosters initial interest and awareness, but it also helps convert window shoppers into paying customers. Plus, through regular engagement and encouraging add-on sales, you can even drive additional revenue per transaction.
Eye-catching outdoor signage highlighting holiday sales, in conjunction with bright window decals, are attention grabbing and a lot of traffic to your store.
Once you’ve generated initial interest and brought in shoppers through your doors, additional in-store signage should help move them throughout the space. Floor graphics can guide your customers all around your store, directing them to all the special displays and store sections you have to offer. Point-of-purchase (POP) displays lead customers toward the register while driving add-on sales and impulse buys during the transaction.
2. USE EYE-CATCHING SPECIAL HOLIDAY DISPLAYS AND PROMOTIONS
Create a special holiday display by placing similar products next to each other, creating a theme for customers to easily purchase gift sets. With specific sections and displays dedicated to holiday sales and gift ideas, customers will be able to quickly and easily find gifts, stocking stuffers and other items they need. Incorporate signs throughout your store to promote cross-product sales and recommend purchase pairings to customers.
Use your holiday graphics and signage to remind customers of the season, stirring up holiday feelings with nostalgic holiday images and phrases. Studies show that creating an emotional connection with consumers is often linked to higher sales, and there is no better time to establish this kind of connection with customers than the holidays!
3. IMPLEMENT A MULTI-CHANNEL MARKETING APPROACH
In-store signage and marketing supplies are effective tactics to inspire interest and drive onsite sales, but that’s only half the battle.
Customers rely heavily on mobile devices and social platforms to stay informed about holiday sales and product availability. By adding digital marketing elements to your marketing plan, you’re able to reach a wider consumer base through multiple channels.
For instance, geo-targeting technology gives you the ability to offer exclusive promotions and limited-time offers to nearby customers – whether they’re already within the four walls of your store, or simply in the broader local area. This helps gamify sales/offers to shoppers, drive more foot traffic through your doors and as a result, generate more sales.
Digital marketing strategies also help you gain additional traction from existing signage and marketing collateral since you can streamline digital content to include the same messaging and branding. Incorporating similar colors, themes and imagery in each marketing component also helps you save time in designing digital content for your potential customers to view, and will create a sense of unity in all of your signage/graphics you use.