Money, Marketing and Soul for Massagepreneurs
Posts tagged Holiday Marketing Ideas
Cyber Monday Marketing Ideas
Nov 20th
Yesterday, we talked about different marketing ideas that you could do for Black Friday. Here are some ideas for Cyber Monday.
Ever since the phrase “Cyber Monday” was coined back in 2005, online retailers have realized the sales potential of this first Monday after Thanksgiving.
Well why can’t massage therapists use this idea too? After all, people are back at their office jobs, tired and maybe a little stuffed from the Thanksgiving dinner. What better to do than shop online?
1. Free gift at when you buy 3 (or whatever number you choose) Gift Certificates. Make sure the gift warrants spending that much money.
2. Send 2 Reminder Emails. For whatever promotion you run, your reminder emails will keep your company in your client’s/prospect’s mind after the Thanksgiving holiday. There will be a ton of marketing emails floating around, so you may want to send an initial email right before or after Thanksgiving. Then follow up with another right as the sale begins.
3. Give Gift Certificates, Not Discounts. Consider offering printable $10 gift certificate that can be used towards a future visit/purchase. For example, rather than offering a $25 discount, offer a $50 gift certificate. Incentives like these tend to cost less, and they may actually be more attractive to your repeat clients.
4. Bounce Back Incentives. Capitalize off the huge amount of traffic you’ll be receiving by offering an incentive for the next purchase/visit. While Cyber Monday sales may be great, you really want consistent clients who will buy from you all year long, even when there are no special offers. Try sending out a follow up email with a gift certificate to everyone who makes a purchase.
5. Create Spa Packages. The value of a spa package can be perceived as greater than the sum of its parts because you are conveniently creating a one stop gift.
6. “Blue Light” Specials. I took this name from K-Mart (or is it Wal-mart that has blue light specials?) Well anyway…randomly highlight specials/items throughout the day on your site. Better yet, highlight different items everyday through the holiday season to keep people coming back.
Wishing you the best and happy holiday selling!
Marketing Ideas for Black Friday
Nov 19th
Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. It also begins the mad shopping spree from Thanksgiving to Christmas.
Thanksgiving is an excellent time to show your customers how much you appreciate their business – and a great time to attract new customers with well-played marketing strategy. Consider the following Black Friday marketing ideas to add plenty of trimmings to your return on investment and get a head start on the Christmas marketing season.
Show your appreciation
1. Many businesses send personalized thank you cards to their customers during the Christmas holiday season, but forego a great opportunity to grab a bigger share of the attention at Thanksgiving. Many people have come to expect Christmas cards from other companies, so a Thanksgiving card of thanks comes as a pleasant surprise and will be remembered as the first card received. You can even begin promoting your big Black Friday sales to gear up for the Christmas season.
2. Host a Open House. In my post on Marketing Ideas for the Holiday Season, I talk more about this idea.
Give back
3. The most endeared businesses give back to the communities that feed them, and Thanksgiving is the best time of year to express your gratitude by leading a food drive. Food drives are not only a worth charity and good PR, they’re also a great way to get customers in your door. To sweeten the deal, offer a coupon to anyone who donates food. Alternatively, you can enter donators into a drawing for a large grand prize. If you don’t have the budget to pull a Thanksgiving food drive off alone, partner with complimenting but noncompeting businesses for your color printing, mailing and prizes.
4. Another great Thanksgiving marketing idea is to distribute free calendars to clients and prospects. Many businesses do this, but if you get an early jump on your calendar printing you can beat your competitors to the wall, so to speak. Calendars are used by most people nearly every day, so calendar printing is one of the most economical ways to put your ad in front of hundreds or even thousands of people every day of the year. When designing your Thanksgiving promotional printed materials, follow the holiday’s theme, develop a great offer and a compelling call to action, and mix the above ideas in for a return on investment you’ll be feasting on for months.
Email marketing
5. Emails are a very low-cost way to reach out to your active customers. If you’re not already collecting email addresses, you should start right away. I encourage you to use an incentive when asking for the address, but rather than saying, “Can I get your email address to notify you of special sales,” I suggest you also offer a special gift.
6. Email Marketing Campaign. Send out an email in the next few days with the heading “Gobble up the savings – Look inside” (or something like that) and then in the email, tell them to stay tuned and open the email from you on Thanksgiving day to find out what kind of specials you have going on for Black Friday.
Stay tuned tomorrow as I talk about marketing ideas for Cyber Monday.
Marketing Ideas for the Holiday Season
Oct 22nd
The holidays quickly approaching! Are you ready? You need to have your holiday marketing plan in place in the next week or two in order to take full-advantage of the holiday season to increase your business and income.
There are many businesses (i.e. retailers) that make 50% their yearly revenue from now until Christmas. With the economy still sluggish, competition is bound to be fierce. Businesses will be using a variety of techniques to draw in customers. Don’t get left behind!
You will need to develop your holiday marketing plan. When you develop a holiday marketing plan, you have to consider two things – your business brand (what makes your business unique) and your client demographics. If you keep these things in mind while you are coming up with holiday marketing ideas, you are more likely to choose the strategies that will yield the best success for your massage practice.
Don’t have a huge marketing budget? No problem. With a little know how and a dash of creativity, you will have your recipe for a successful holiday marketing plan.
Let’s take a look at some simple, creative and affordable holiday marketing ideas to increase your revenues during the holiday season:
Market the he** out of your Gift Certificates! A key selling point is that people don’t think to give services as gifts, but they can be very unique (and often much appreciated) gifts. Tell your clients how much the recipient would love your service instead of a fruitcake. Check out my post Gift Certificate Promotions for more ideas.
Do a little revamping. Take what you already offer and create new services such as:
1. Mini-session or samplings. The offer a “Create-Your-Own” package so you clients can have what they want.
2. Create signature services (i.e. take a Reflexology session add an exfoliation and a mask to come up with:
Chocolate Crème Bliss Reflexology
All of the pleasure, none of the guilt! Escape to a state of bliss while the sensory pleasures of chocolate indulgence entice your senses. Your treatment begins with a custom cocoa and honey exfoliation to your feet, followed by a tantalizing, cocoa-laced mud wrap. Next your ultimate journey to relaxation continues with pressure points being stimulated on your feet to pamper your body and mind. An application of deep hydrating, creamy mile and honey lotion completes this chocolate crème fantasy.
3. Offer product with Gift Certificates. You could bundle several products into a basket perhaps with special themes. This is the gift that keeps on giving. The recipient will get the actual gift that they can use until they redeem their Gift Certificate.
4. Offer a “Something of the Month” club: People are always looking for unique gifts to give. Why not help them out and create ongoing cash flow for your massage practice? You can do this type of gift series with almost anything. Seriously. Did you know there is a Bacon of the Month club? Well why not a “Massage of the Month” club.
Free Gift with Purchase. Give your client a gift. Giving a free gift with a purchase is one of the oldest holiday marketing ideas on the planet. However, you need to really consider your client base when you choose what that gift will be.
Send Out Cards. This is an nice way to remember your clients at the Holidays (depending on your target audience, it can be for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or simply “Seasons Greetings”) and also to say thank them for their business. I used to put in a coupon that they could use next year – this idea is fully explained in my ebook Creating a Prosperous Practice with the sample card). You can also send a Happy New Year card. But don’t stop there. Don’t forget about your vast referral base. Be sure to send business holiday cards to your friends, family, associates, and vendors.
Give a coupon or discount. As both a gift to your customers and a way to boost your seasonal revenue, why not offer a discount or send out a coupon that promotes one or more of your services or products. Don’t send your coupons out so early that your customers forget about them, but send them out so they have an adequate amount of time to redeem them. Black Friday (the day after the Thanksgiving) is a good ear mark for sending out coupons.
Offer a holiday special. Encourage larger purchases with this marketing idea. Try offering “Buy Two Gift Certificates and Get a Third Free”. Or here is a variation on this same idea: Tell your customers when they purchase a certain amount, the will get something for free. For instance, “Buy $100 worth of products and get a free CD”. These are just a few ways that you can both thank your customers and offer them something special for the holidays.
Hold a Holiday Open House. This could be for your clients or for the general public (or both or have two separate ones). Offer mini-sessions (see above), products and Gift Certificates for sale. You may even want to have a holiday special for that event (see above).
Take a few minutes to which holiday ideas resonate with you and your business. You don’t have to do them all – one could be enough. Then, put it on your calendar and spread some holiday happiness to your clients!
Best of success to your business this holiday season!
Have a marketing idea not mentioned here that you would like to share? Post them in the comments.
