[ How to Plan Your Christmas Marketing Campaign]

Fall 2015

For Bloom Real Estate, LLC

By Clay de Souza

It is still only September, but businesses and their respective brands

are already preliminarily putting out their Christmas marketing plans into

action and you should in truth start doing the same as soon as possible.

Everyone knows what an important time of year Christmas is for business

and you and/or we ought to be planning your strategy as soon as possible

even though you are in the realm of Real Estate.

At Christmas time people are looking to spend and spend big and you

need to think about the ways in which you are going to convince them that

they should be still be looking to buy a home. Christmas is the time to kick

your marketing efforts into the next level and ensuring that you are

maximizing the opportunities that the season presents. With that in mind

here are some ways in which to plan your Christmas marketing campaign

below.

What Makes a Good Christmas Campaign?

There are certain brands that always seem to generate excitement for their Christmas campaigns:

Holiday contest, sweepstakes, or raffle: When people are

purchasing gifts for spouses, children, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and

others, they can often feel that they are being forgotten. By creating

seasonal raffles for hockey games, or holding holiday-themed contests, such

as the Ugliest Holiday Sweater, you can ensure that your clients have fun

and get excited about your business during a possibly stressful time. If

sharing details on Facebook, use a third party application such as

www.likeourbusiness.com or www.woobox.com, and remember to include

your company information, logo, and contact information. Also, make sure

any contest or sweepstakes does not violate state or local laws.

A time for giving: You can create a good reputation by encouraging

clients, prospects, referral partners, and others to be charitable over the

holidays. Holiday marketing ideas can be as simple as setting out a donation

box for clothing and children’s gifts or a collection box for loose change, or

something more elaborate such as corporate matching for total

contributions. You can send out emails to your clients, prospects, and others

about what you are doing, why you are doing it, and why you selected the

charity. Offer a discount for your services if they donate or create a photo

backdrop and you can propose that you take their holiday photo.

Holiday, seasonal, and industry hints and tips: Sometimes,

people don’t want to be bombarded with sales pitches, discounts, or offers.

More holiday marketing ideas to help stay in the minds of people is to send

out hints and tips, blog entries, or articles related to the season, holiday, or

industry, For example, you can remind people how to protect pipes from

freezing, offer holiday decorating safety tips, or suggest ways to simplify

holiday entertaining.

Deck the halls: Another way to engage the people around you is by

decorating the office for the holiday season ( if you have an office). Lastly,

change your logos on social media sites to reflect a holiday message, design,

or symbol.

Feature limited time deals and special offers: By partnering with

local businesses, you can create a holiday discount package on services that

clients are likely to use during the winter season, such as florists, snow

removal, gift cards to boutique or jewelry stores, event planners, HVAC, and

more.

Add the personal touch: You want clients to remember both your

business and yourself too. During the holidays, send holiday postcards or e-

cards with a simple yet thoughtful greeting in it, and even thanks for their

loyalty and business. Not only will you stay in the minds of the recipients,

you will seem more like a real person instead of just a business. You can

personalize it even more by sharing an experience, photo, event, or even a

recipe that is meaningful or interesting to them. Remember - a simple

holiday greeting goes a long way to creating and maintain solid professional

relationships.

Unique gifts: You appreciate every client – they have helped you

become what you are today. Every business has a few special clients that

gave them an extra boost. To thank those clients with whom you have a

closer professional relationship, send them special and unique gifts –

chocolate truffles, special wine, tickets to a show – that extra touch will be

remembered fondly.

Attracting new clients during the holiday season may seem like a huge

undertaking, but it doesn’t have to be. By offering incentives, creating a

personal touch, and adding more communication, you may find that you not

only meet new clients who are looking for a house or mortgage, but can

encourage previous clients to get back in touch with you. Given your

clientele, try some of the holiday marketing ideas for interesting ways to add

some cheer through your professional life.

Update Your Branding

Christmas is a great opportunity to give all of your branding a festive

overhaul. Design Christmas themed cover photos and banners for your social

media platforms in order to start placing thoughts of mistletoe and wine in

the hearts and minds of your followers. This is a low cost and low effort

method of beginning your Christmas efforts.

Collect all of your Christmas related gift ideas into a single guide. Not only

will this assist your customers in browsing your goods, but will also get them

thinking about your Real Estate business in terms of the Christmas season.

Update your customers with important information relating to your

Christmas efforts. This will make your customers feel like you care enough to

keep them in the loop and will also provide a gentle nudge that Christmas is

coming.

Make Your Customers Feel Special

Christmas is all about making your family and friends feel that warm fuzzy

glow that one gets when they know that somebody cares about them.

However, this need not stop with the people in your personal life as your

customers will appreciate a little extra effort during the season as well.

You can include small gifts with purchases. A little chocolate or some

other treat will go a long way to nurturing that Christmas feeling in your

customers (after all, Christmas is all about chocolate and treats).

Offer to gift wrap your customers items for them. People will feel a lot

more Christmassy leaving your store with an armful of lovingly wrapped gifts

compared to a sack-full of loose items.