Wake up, it is November! It is the eleventh month, and the realization
that the year is about to end is hitting many of us like the first freeze of
the season: we weren’t quite ready for it yet. As long as the sun was shining
and the weather was warm, we could delude ourselves into believing this year
would last forever. But alas, November has turned over on our calendars, and we
are all faced with the reality of the end coming very soon.
What does that mean for your marketing? Does that leave you in a
marketing panic, realizing you have unreached goals still ahead of you? The
good news is there is still time to make marketing inroads that will help you
in the new year to come. Here are a few places you can still make a connection
to your target market by the end of the year.
Focus on the
goodwill of your brand
Charitable causes provide opportunities to connect emotionally with
consumers. If you are going to give to charity, now is the time to promote it.
But giving money to a charitable cause is not the only way to promote your
goodwill. There is a sequence of national days of recognition that you should
take note of in November and December. Veterans Day is November 11. Why not
salute a soldier or sailor in your marketing? Thanksgiving is the last Thursday
of November. Why not send out a message of thanks for your customers,
employees, community, etc? Of course, there is also the Christmas season that
lends itself to the expression of giving and gratitude. Bolstering good vibes
about your brand helps consumers believe the best about you. That is an
important marketing strategy.
Give your
customers a reason to buy now
With the fast-approaching end of the year, why not give your customers
an added incentive to buy from you now? There are many companies that have a
fiscal year tied to the calendar year. That means that if they have a budget to
spend by the end of the year, they may be looking for what you are selling.
Give them a reason to say yes to you by promoting a perk for them to do so now.
Anytime there is an expiring deadline looming just ahead, it gives marketers a
leg up. The fear of missing out (FOMO) on a deal drives many consumers to make
a purchase before the deadline. Use this FOMO to your advantage.
Make it easy on
your customer
Keep in mind that your customer may be going through a November panic of
their own. They might have had some goals of getting something completed by the
end of the year and just realized it was November. If there is a way you can
help them complete that task with your products and services, your marketing
should focus on taking the burden off of them and lifting it for them.
Marketing should make it easy for your customer – easy to understand what you
are selling, easy to see how it benefits them and easy to say yes to you.
If you are in a marketing panic because it is November, ease up and see
how you can make marketing work for you between now and the end of the year. It
is not too late to engage with consumers. In many ways, marketing opportunities
abound this time of year.
Image:
The Scream by Edvard Munch,
1893