The holiday season is one of the best opportunities for both small and large companies to grow their clientele and increase traffic. Many businesses are unaware that the last quarter of the year (from October through December) is when they need to step up their marketing game to attract new leads. Christmas Day doesn’t mark the end of the holiday shopping season, in fact holiday sales are known to peak between Christmas and New Years.
 
According to Econsultancy, consumers are 3x more likely than non-searchers to convert when they search for products on a company’s website. Optimizing the online world prior to, and during consumers’ in-store shopping experience increases conversion rates by 40%.
 
But what does it mean to convert a customer?
 

Conversion Marketing is when potential customers are encouraged to take a specific action, such as converting the browsing consumer into a buying customer. Companies can optimize conversion marketing by establishing post-holiday promotions to extend the busiest shopping season.

 
That means the key is not to put all your gifts in one sleigh, so stretch your marketing budget as much as possible to extend pre-season promotions to include the post-holiday season. Instead of spending the majority of your marketing budget leading up to the holidays, dominate the New Year by putting some money aside.
 

 
To maximize the holiday season, here at ListPopular we build content calendar for our clients (as well as ourselves), which are built backwards around major holidays between January and October. This helps us to get a better idea of how far in advance we need to start promoting for Thanksgiving, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and so on.
 
Here’s a quick look at our Holiday Marketing Action Plan from October:
 

 
Need help? Get in touch with us today to discuss a custom built content marketing calendar.
 
So without adieu,let’s get down to the top 5 easiest ways to convert your customers once the holidays are over!
 

1. Use Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and Display Ads

 
PPC and Display Marketing are quick n’ easy ways to increase website traffic by using keyword management and data analysis for higher conversion rates. For the most part, pay-per-click appears in search engine results and display ads are featured on various websites.
 
Here’s an example of Pay-Per-Click Ads (aka Text Ads):

 
Here’s an example of what Display Marketing looks like:
 

2. Allow for Easy Returns and Exchanges

 
First off, it’s not necessarily a bad thing if a customer decides to return a product or wants an exchange. Why? Because it means the customer will revisit, which gives your company another opportunity to get it right with the possibility to upsell. A recent study found that online retailers who offer free shipping on exchanges and returns, increase the amount of future purchases by 58 to 357%. Basically… the easier the process is to exchange or return an item, the more likely a customer will spend more money.
 

3. Reach Out and Listen

 
This year, your business should go out of its way to thank each new customer and ask for their feedback on their overall experience. Ultimately this shows your company truly values the opinions of its consumers because after all, you should! Early in the New Year, reach out a second time using newsletters, fresh new content, and upcoming promotions to give your customers a reason to come back.
 

 
It’s important to analyze the entire year (in particular, focusing on the first quarter from January to March), and then compare that data to prior years. This will help develop an understanding of what consumers are telling you about your business – so pay close attention! Yes, it is beneficial to try new things especially at the beginning of a New Year but if the data says what you’re doing is working, don’t change a good thing. Simply, give your approach a fresh and updated feel so your consumers are continuously engaged.
 

4. Build a Loyalty Program that Keeps your Customers in Mind

 
Encourage your shoppers to stick around when the holidays are over with a loyalty program they actually want to be a part of. Big ticket rewards customers love are free products, discounts, relevant add-ons, and exclusive offers. But don’t be fooled, small rewards are just as loveable such as a credit on their account, free shipping on orders over a certain amount, or a gift card giveaway. Small rewards go a long way to help nudge your paying customers to spend a little bit more. You can even take the loyalty program one step further by putting it in your customers’ hands – build two or three program templates then allow your customers to pilot them for their favourite. After all, the customer is always right!
 

5. Don’t Let Them Get Away!

 
Abandoned shopping carts will happen from time to time but it doesn’t mean the customer has abandoned the purchase. They could be on the fence while they compare similar products or services, or simply they forgot or got distracted.
 

 
Check out this fun infographic by KISSmetrics on shopping cart Abandonment Issues.
 
Give the customer a few days to mull it over and if it still remains inactive, let them know they have pending items in their shopping cart. Failing to following up with abandoned shopping cart owners gives your competition the opportunity to steal your customers away… don’t let that happen! You’ve worked really hard to get them this far so don’t let them get away that easily.
 

 
Tell us what you think! How do you plan on keeping your customers loyal in the New Year?