Klaviyo blog post<\/a> I mentioned earlier asserts, “in a year that\u2019s been plagued with supply chain and logistical challenges, brands will need to be particularly attuned to consumer shopping habits and adjust their marketing strategies and messages to entice shoppers to make purchases earlier in order to receive them in time for the holidays this year.\u201d Now’s the time to get on the same wavelength as your customers and be a customer whisperer.<\/p>\nIf you\u2019re a brand-new jewelry brand without any historical data, then you may just want to try to reflect on some of your favorite brands and how they\u2019ve handled holiday marketing in the past. Or Google the term \u201cbest holiday marketing campaigns\u201d, and you\u2019ll see so many inspiring examples that you can adapt for your budget and available resources.<\/p>\n
In September, you\u2019ll definitely want to set realistic holiday sales goals. If you\u2019re an established jewelry brand, then you know what\u2019s possible, and you can determine a goal based on past results. If you\u2019re a new jewelry brand, then try to determine how many units you can realistically sell given the size of your current prospective customer base. Once you know your goals, you can start making decisions about what will help you achieve those goals. For example, if you already have an excellent Instagram presence and lots of engagement on your Instagram profile, then you\u2019ll want to double down on your efforts with Instagram and decide exactly how you\u2019ll be doing that, whether it means investing in better imagery, paying for ads, hiring a pro copywriter, or something else.<\/p>\n
In addition, you\u2019ll want to take stock of what you will need for the holidays. Do you have enough holiday-themed photo assets for your ecommerce store and your social media profiles? What are some of your best-selling products, and what can you do to push those as gifts? Do you need to make any technical or aesthetic changes to your website? For example, you\u2019ll want to assess things like your mobile usability, your customer service information, your navigation and overall user experience, your product pages, your page load speed, etc. Do you need to hire a marketing partner or other outside collaborator to help you execute some of your ideas? Make a big list and start figuring out how you can get these things done in the next few weeks, ideally before Halloween.<\/p>\n
October: Planning and gathering<\/em><\/p>\nNow that you have a strategy, and you know what you need in order to achieve your goals, you\u2019ll want to assign a timeline that will guide you from early October through early January. Let\u2019s pretend you decided to invest in your email marketing because you like the return it gave you last year. Then you will need to make a week-by-week plan that details the timing and frequency of your email marketing campaigns. You\u2019ll also want to start thinking about the content of those emails. Definitely consider how you’ll be adjusting your marketing efforts around Black Friday\/Cyber Monday as you get closer to the Christmas holiday.<\/p>\n
Which promotions can you afford to offer your customers, and how do you want to distribute those promotions throughout the holiday season? What does holiday production and shipping look like for you? What is your shipping cutoff for Christmas? How will you adjust your return policy for gifting, if at all? These are all questions you need to be able to answer.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, you\u2019ll want to start looking at the list of things you decided you\u2019ll need in September and see if anything is missing now that you have your plan. Will you need any additional photos for your emails? Will you need a graphic designer and\/or copywriter to help you take your emails to the next level? October is all about gathering the resources you need, so you\u2019re not scrambling to find them in November and December, when you should be 100% focused on the customer experience.<\/p>\n