B2B Holiday Marketing Strategies: 2020 Pandemic Edition

5 B2B Holiday Marketing Strategies to Consider for 2020

While this holiday season may be a little unique given the environment, that doesn’t mean you should stop preparing for the holiday season. By now the thought of Thanksgiving and other upcoming winter holidays have crossed your mind.

Even though there may be a slowdown in the B2B marketing world, that doesn’t mean it stops completely. Keep on top of your B2B marketing strategies during the holiday season to generate potential leads for the new year and to show clients your appreciation for their business.

Here are some things you should consider if you are going all out for the holidays:

Client Outreach – Holiday Communications:

As the holidays approach, timing is best when it comes to your clients. Most of your client contacts may not be focused on obtaining your newest service or product – they may be busy worrying about their upcoming holidays.

Automate your email communication to your clients taking into consideration your client contacts and relevant holiday season messaging – some may actually be at home with the family and reading what you have to say. Take advantage and set up campaigns to let them know of any exciting news, promotions or other seasonal messaging that may benefit them.

While your emails may be informing your client contacts of any new up and coming projects, why not make a campaign to send your clients a “Happy Holidays” email and send them some warm wishes?

Now is the time to consider these types of campaigns – the earlier the better as you can create a marketing plan and get your ideas rolling.

Client Gift Incentive:

While we did say be wary of the type of promotional emails you send around the holiday time, you can always let your clients know of anything special coming up that they may be interested in.

If your company has something in the works for the following year that you believe may work in the best interest for your client, let them know.  As an example, send them exclusive white papers that detail your up and coming project.

Besides revealing innovative upcoming projects to your client, show your goodwill with a gift as a token of appreciation to your company contact.  An E-Card, a mailed Holiday Card, maybe even a gift basket.

The holiday season is often referred to as the “season of giving” – follow suit and send your clients some cheer through holiday gifting.

Festive Advertisements:

Call your graphic designer for this one!

Create some festive advertisements for the season. Holiday banners, graphics, and maybe even spruce up the webpage with a holiday graphic or two if you want to feel the spirit of the season.

Utilize Google Ads to create seasonal campaigns that will target an audience who may need your product or service this holiday season. This strategy can be used for B2B and B2C companies alike.

If you do plan to jump on the holiday marketing bandwagon, be sure to conduct a holiday relevant keyword search to ensure your ads are relevant and SEO optimized.  Be sure to also set up scheduling at times when you believe your target audience may be searching.  This will put your messaging in front of the largest range of your target audience.

Holiday Content:

With the relevant keywords in mind, create holiday copy that will bring joy to the world… or at least joy to your email.

Use terms like “Merry”, “Tis the Season”, and of course, “Holiday” in your content. Maybe create content that appeals to the emotional side for this holiday season.  With 2020 coming to an end, this could be a time to send messaging that touches on the hope for the future and looking toward a new year working with your clients to meet challenges and goals together.

Partner with a non-profit this holiday season to enhance your company culture and reassure the public of your company-wide values. Let your clients know this in your latest newsletter or press release.

Be sure to schedule your social media in advance as well!  Make your social media content equally as festive as your other forms of content. Festive social media that utilizes holiday hashtags will bring a higher audience to your social media platforms.

Countdown ’til the New Year:

Prepare your clients and marketing for the next year by reviewing your data from throughout this year to find any faults in your strategy. If you have a stacked CRM like SharpSpring or SEMRush, this data can be found in a few simple clicks.

Make changes where they are needed and if you haven’t done so already, remove the tedious tasks from your workload through automation.

Prepare for upcoming projects in the new year, create your strategies for next year and prepare for 2021.

Tis The Season…To Be Marketing

The year may be winding down, but that does not mean that your B2B marketing strategies should be going into hibernation.  Your clients and audience may not be making purchases, but they are still listening to your messaging.

Indeed, sending out holiday messaging or marketing campaigns that wish your clients well and show gratitude can make a great impression on your target audience.

When it comes to buying and purchasing decisions in the B2B landscape, relationships are key.  Your customers will remember your messages, even the small “Happy Holidays” email you sent in December 2020.

We hope these tips will help you with your Q4 strategy in 2020 as you gear up for the new year in 2021.

Reach out to a member of our team to learn how we can help you prepare your marketing strategies for the coming year.