The advent of the holiday season brings a unique opportunity for brands to both capture seasonal sales and set up strategies for the year to come. Each new year brings new customer trends and expectations, so wise business leaders will turn to a blend of well-established insights and fresh strategies to meet current and prospective customers where they are—and where they will be.
From timely outreach to pique customers’ interest at the start of the year to new and improved methods that will leverage the realities of the 2023 marketplace, the members of Forbes Communications Council are on top of strategies that can help brands capture and keep their customers’ attention and loyalty. Below, 16 of them share effective marketing strategies that companies can use to boost sales at the beginning of the new year and beyond.
1. Lead With An Inspiring Purpose
We have found that operating as a purposeful company in a highly competitive market can be a differentiator and driver of brand consideration. The clients and candidates that we prospect are evaluating our attributes and offerings against others and find meaning in a commitment to solving endemic issues. For us, leading with an inspiring purpose is a way that we create meaningful connections. –
2. Focus On Relevant Content, SEO And SEM
At the beginning of the year, individuals and businesses are looking for growth, so relevant content honed to solving business needs always performs well. Search engines have significantly updated their algorithms this year with a focus on improving the relevance and quality of search results. Content, search engine optimization and search engine marketing all go hand in hand, and these are my starting points for growth at the beginning of the year. – Paul Stoddart,Salesforce
3. Explore New Mediums
Explore new mediums that may have been overlooked. Analyze what didn’t perform this year, and allocate some of that budget to test something different. For example, more people are working from home now, and direct mail marketing has been performing better than ever. Or, research the top influencers in your industry and create partnerships with them to promote your brand.
4. Start The New Year Off With Limited-Time Offers
Timing is everything. Generate buzz during peak travel dates leading up to the new year, while people are focused on post-holiday sales, and set up a discount code or limited-time offer to expedite their purchase. Also, while the urge can be to target new customers, remember the value of existing customers with an offer to sweeten the deal for them as well.
5. Use The Holidays To Engage Customers In A Discussion
Start now with season’s greetings. The holiday season is a great time to engage customers and partners in a discussion that goes beyond sales and establishes trusted relationships. The new year is a good time to launch new initiatives and realign to a longer-term set of ambitious goals. Think about how to bring partners and customers along.
6. Include A Cause Or Purpose In Value Propositions
Think beyond the functional and emotional needs of your customers. More and more, consumers are demanding social and environmental commitments from their beloved brands. Making value propositions that include a cause or a purpose will not only respond to your customers’ demands, but it will also increase the well-being of others. If communicated properly, this will turn into a competitive advantage. –
7. Demonstrate The Positive Impact Of Your Solution
Truly get to know your customer. Show how your solution will have a positive impact on your prospective customers on a personal, purpose-driven and trust-building level. Customer stories in video, blog, podcast and infographic formats will help boost sales. Craft your messaging, improve your offer and grow your business and brand. Maintaining share of voice is key in creating a customer pipeline. –
8. Grow With Existing Clients
Avoid the holiday craziness and create a simple outreach program for the first of the year for your existing clients. What are their goals for 2023? Are there any new offerings or initiatives? If they are happy with you, can you ask for a referral? Don’t assume that new business needs to actually be new. Growth with existing clients can be a great way to start your year off. –
9. Leverage PR To Boost Your Reputation (And Customers’ Confidence)
PR is a key driver to boost sales and is a strong ally to sales and marketing. In turbulent or blurry times, more than ever, companies need to keep investing in their market presence and reputation. Strong brands with a good image are reassuring. This is where public relations can help make a distinctive contribution to the growth pipeline. Confident customers make easier purchasing decisions. –
10. Build A Foundation Of Educational Content
The foundation of your marketing should be educational content. The production of valuable, search-optimized content—whether written, audio, video or visual—is a key strategy that companies should be working on now so that they have it in place before the new year. Getting visits and leads through valuable content boosts your sales team’s efforts, drives new pipelines and helps generate sales. –
11. Take Advantage Of Earned And Owned Channels
With tightening budgets, marketers need to take advantage of their earned and owned channels. Among the most overlooked are the local business pages that appear at the top of social and search sites—they can be used to connect more closely with local audiences. When you make the effort to create content relevant to local communities, it can raise brand affinity and impact a final purchase decision. –
12. Turn To Account-Based Marketing
Account-based marketing has been in the news for some time, but 2023 is really the perfect year to execute it. Narrow your focus down to your top 20 existing and prospective clients, and develop a collaborative environment that includes your marketing, PR, presales, sales and ISR teams to drive a very pointed approach with these accounts. Establish a six- to eight-month plan to drive this, and you will see results. –
13. Create A Year-End ‘Thank You’ Video
The end of the year is a great time to appreciate customers for their partnership throughout the year. No one does better marketing for a company than its customers. One example is an end-of-year video that expresses gratitude while also highlighting the past year of your product or service. Customers can gain visibility into additional capabilities they may not yet be using. –
14. Build Stronger Customer Relationships Through Lifecycle Stage Retention Marketing
Loyalty is the key for 2023. As economic uncertainty persists, the best way to ensure a strong 2023 is for brands to focus on their existing customers. With the cost of acquisition on a perpetual rise and the quick churn of many first-time buyers, lifecycle stage retention marketing will help brands create stronger long-term relationships with their customers and gain their loyalty for life. –
15. Put In The Effort To Hyper-Personalize Communications
Hyper-personalized communications are crucial to boosting sales. This can take several forms, from personal videos that add personal touches to email or social media messages. Using a one-size-fits-all messaging strategy can easily miss the mark. Putting in the extra effort to research each user’s preferences creates a more tailored experience in which each touch point with a prospect is as personal as possible. –
16. Guide Followers From ‘Scroll’ To ‘Shop’
Social commerce continues to play a vital role in the post-pandemic social landscape. Leverage native shopping features and link-in-bio solutions to guide followers from “scroll” to “shop.” When paired with a strong call to action, brands can bridge the gap between viewing a post and completing a purchase, creating a seamless experience for prospective buyers and enabling brands to boost sales for the new year
Source:- https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2022/12/19/16-effective-marketing-strategies-to-boost-sales-in-2023/?sh=286e47fb29d7