The holiday shopping season has begun and many businesses are wondering what sales will be like in this type of economy. Although CE sales haven’t completely flatlined, they have been soft. But it’s important to ignore the statistics for a minute and focus on how your company can guarantee sales throughout the holiday season into next year.
Focus less on the sale of gross products and more on individual units. Take a hard look at the inventory you have on hold, pick out certain items that you need to get rid of and single them out. Take the mid-sized televisions, media players and accessories that may be on the brink of losing profit and focus on those for holiday sales and marketing.
It’s easy to drive sales of those types of products by creating a social buzz around them and placing additional value on the product. But before you fire up your buzz marketing campaigns, make sure to get on Facebook. Create a profile and add pictures, product information and other creative elements. Drive social traffic by developing Facebook-only deals and discounts for consumers linking directly from Facebook to your Web site. Attract and add as many people as possible to the page by maintaining the page at least a few times a day.
You can begin by using a 32-inch LCD or plasma TV as the first buzz product. Begin by posting a "status" on Facebook saying something along the lines of, "IT’S COMING!! AMAZING PRICE CUT ON _____ 32" LCD!! Keep watching because there are only a few left!!" Even if you have a large amount to sell, the public doesn’t know that. Once they read that status in their news feed on Facebook, they will get anxious about the purchase and will tell their friends about the product and sale. You have just begun the buzz marketing process.
A week before your sale, or even black Friday, post a link on your Facebook page to the product with a quote saying, "THROUGH FACEBOOK ONLY: Pre-Sale access to _____ 32" LCD TV!! HURRY BECAUSE THERE ARE ONLY A FEW LEFT!" This statement will create a sense of excitement among your following consumers. Even if they don’t really need this TV, the fact they believe this TV is such a good deal with only a few left will create the immediate desire to buy. Even if you grab the attention of a small percentage of the more than 15 million Facebook users, you’ll be successful.
An important thing to remember is that you need to be constantly communicating with your "friends" on Facebook because there will definitely be questions about the sale, the product and other sales or products you have. That all adds up to FREE marketing to drive your sales. This holiday season is going to go by extremely fast. Create a plan that makes setting up social marketing campaigns as close to automatic as possible.
Another strategy is to place additional value on the end-of-year products you are trying to push out. Brainstorm with your brightest team members to find discover and develop all related sales and marketing angles related to the select products. Put yourself in the consumers’ shoes. Use this information (through Facebook and other social platforms), to educate your consumers about potential uses and value these products or accessories have.
At Vann’s, for example, we blast out daily deals through Facebook, which show up on everyone’s home page. Vann’s creates strong consumer mindshare by doing this every day. It’s important to constantly seek out "friends" on Facebook in order to penetrate the market as best as you can.
One of the most important business strategies today is to remain optimistic. Those who stay strong and focus on their core values will be riding high when we pull out of the recession. Keep in mind that you cannot neglect your marketing when your budgets are tight. It is important to make your customers know it’s okay to shop. Continue to build relationships with them, through good times and bad, to solidify trust and loyalty. DS
Courtney Manlove is the founder of Schvee.com, which she has developed in conjunction with Vann’s.
