Unlike business-to-consumer companies, B2B firms don’t always have the option of promoting their products/services as part of a “holiday gift list” promotion, and many don’t know how to keep sales strong during the holiday season. However, even if your customer base is comprised of other businesses, there are some great ways to keep sales robust during the winter holiday season.
Background:
Research firm Software Advice found that the week before and the week after Christmas are good times to qualify leads since people who are at work are a bit more available. This is just one example of how B2B firms can keep sales humming over the holidays.
The sooner you begin planning, the better you can execute a successful holiday campaign. But don’t worry if your leads don’t convert right away. Take the holidays as an opportunity to lay the groundwork for booming success in the New Year. Here we’ve listed 13 great strategies that can help B2B firms boost sales, drive leads and close deals during the holiday and post-holiday season.
Create a Holiday-Themed Campaign
You can create a social media campaign for the holiday season from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. Strategize and shape your campaign according to your customers’ and prospects’ needs and invite them to click and contact you. You can also run a holiday-themed social media campaign to promote a charity or help a great cause.
Send Cards and Gifts
The holidays are a great time to promote your brand. Business owners should take this time to say thanks to their existing clients by sending cards and useful gifts. You can send special offers or coupons for free items like new year calendars, along with other relevant content via email to attract potential buyers.
Run Limited-Time Offers
Promoting limited-time offers can help you get in front of your clients and prospects. Offers like discounting the first month’s service can attract potential clients. You can also provide customers with a limited-time service upgrade for very little cost to you, or extend your warranty period.
Offer Personalized Products
Often, after a certain point in the fourth quarter, companies start looking for new vendors. Analyze your marketing results to understand the behavior, desires and needs of your target customers. This analysis will help you offer personalized products to B2B organizations so you can increase engagement and drive more sales. You can also provide a customized configuration of your product or service according to the need of potential customers.
Offer a Trial Period
You may allow prospects to pay in the New Year and start using your product now for a week at no cost. If customers like your service, they may get hooked and want to buy it.
Use Social Media Ads
Social media ads can help you place your offer in front of an audience on a platform where business owners and CEOs spend a lot of time when they’re off work. Use your keywords carefully to link search terms related to holiday business with your page so B2B customers may easily find your business profile.
Start a Customer Loyalty or Referral Program
Incentivize your loyal customers to make holiday purchases by providing them with a customer loyalty program. You can also ramp up referral discounts to encourage your customers to refer their friends. This allows your brand to meet a new audience and drive brand awareness.
Design Compelling Landing Pages
B2B buyers often conduct detailed cost/benefit analyses before making a purchase. Therefore, your landing pages must highlight what makes your service different. You can also place holiday-centric offers on your website that convince prospective consumers to reach out to you. In addition, track the leads on your website so you can follow up with new website visitors.
Maintain Positive Public Relations
If you’ve got positive customer testimonials and case studies, you recently won an award or you’ve been featured in an industry article, share the news on your website and social media. Sharing your success may help you influence potential customers’ buying decisions.
Upsell to Your Existing Customers
Upgrade your services or try to bundle them with new products or services. This will help make your offers more enticing, especially if customers find they can get a discount for buying more. You can win new customers by providing solutions that can help them reduce overhead costs, become more efficient and improve their productivity.
Take a Survey
You can use the holiday period to get to know your prospects and customers better by sending out a short survey asking for new features that could make your offering better. To reach new B2B customers, focus on creating content or promotional offers that they really want.
Leverage Different Marketing Channels
You can use social media, blogs, webinars and email marketing to raise your brand recognition and draw in new leads during the holiday season. You may also host virtual events for current clients and prospects or create a social media contest to inform the audience about discounts. Start the planning and promotion early to provide quality content on relevant platforms.
Prompt People to Sign Up
A well-timed discount or offer can help you stand out from the competition. Use valuable content and offers to draw people to your social media profiles and register with their email addresses.
