In marketing and retail, the year is divided into three main phases: pre-holiday, the holiday period, and post-holiday. The holiday season is critical for retailers because it brings a surge in sales and attracts many new shoppers. But what’s more important for marketers is what happens with these new customers once the holiday season ends. 

Now that the holiday season is over, have you taken a moment to assess how the customers you gained during that period are interacting with your brand? Engaging these new customers with thoughtful email or SMS marketing strategies could turn them into lifelong, loyal supporters.

Step One: Segment Customers Gained During the Holiday Season

Segmenting holiday shoppers into unique marketing groups can turn them into loyal customers. This involves analyzing purchase history, product preferences and engagement levels to group customers with similar behaviors or interests.

Once you’ve segmented these customers, design a communication plan specifically for them that is different from your regular marketing efforts. Tailor messages with offers and information that resonate with their unique interests. For example, if one segment purchased fitness equipment, your communication could focus on health and wellness tips and special promotions on fitness-related products. This allows you to connect more effectively and improve their experience with your brand.

If the idea of separating these customers from your standard marketing communications is a concern, implement a hybrid approach. Include a portion, maybe 10%, of these new customers in your general marketing campaigns. This enables you to observe and monitor their interaction with a broader range of content and identify behavioral patterns and preferences over time. 

Step Two: Reintroduce Your Brand to Holiday Customers

After successfully segmenting your holiday customers, the next step is to reintroduce your brand to them, highlighting what makes it unique and appealing. This involves a strategic approach to educating them about your Points of Difference (POD), highlighting your best products or services, and giving a sneak peek of what’s to come in the spring. 

Here are a few ideas for reintroduction after the holiday rush: 

• Showcase hero products. Use video tutorials or customer testimonials on various platforms to emphasize their benefits and why they are customer favorites.
• Tease upcoming spring releases. To build anticipation, provide sneak peeks or exclusive previews across integrated media streams like email newsletters and Instagram stories.
• Use social media to share your brand story. Use integrated media streams like blog posts, YouTube videos, and social media campaigns to engage customers and strengthen their connection to your brand.
• Offer a special incentive. Encourage repeat business by sending a targeted email campaign with early access to new products or a spring discount.

Step Three: Focus on Relationship Building

After reintroducing your brand, focus on building lasting relationships with these new customers. Guide them through an email or SMS flow filled with valuable, evergreen content. This period isn’t for direct sales pitches since these customers have recently made purchases during a promotional period.

Frequent sales offers might condition them to expect constant discounts, potentially diminishing their Lifetime Value (LTV). This type of strategy risks customers delaying purchases, holding out for future sales instead of buying at full price.

To avoid this, engage them in ways that don’t directly push for sales. Encourage participation in your loyalty program, registration for SMS updates or downloading your app. These actions boost the customer-brand connection, bolstering retention beyond just seasonal purchases and allowing for a more strategic approach to discounts in the future.

Step Four: Perform Routine Testing to Optimize Marketing Outcomes

After nurturing your new customers, don’t just fold them into your general marketing campaigns and forget about them. Routinely test and measure their engagement against your legacy audience, identifying interaction differences. Pay attention to open rates, click-through rates and how effectively they convert.

Implement specific testing procedures to optimize engagement. For example, run A/B tests on email subject lines to determine which ones increase open rates or experiment with various call-to-action (CTA) buttons to see which improves click-through rates.

These strategies yield actionable data, enabling you to better refine your marketing efforts to suit customer preferences. For instance, you may move them into communication streams emphasizing value or focusing on sales according to their interests. You can also use engagement and purchase history to explore cross-selling opportunities. 

Ensure rigorous monitoring and accurate tagging to tailor strategies that increase customer retention and deepen loyalty. This hands-on, customized approach ensures your marketing evolves with your audience, solidifying their bond with your brand.

Elevate Your Brand and Secure Customer Loyalty

Adopting these strategies can help you secure consumer loyalty after the holiday rush and any other event that brings a surge of new customers to your brand. Whether during prominent shopping days like Prime Day, Memorial Day or Labor Day, or throughout your semi-annual sales, each moment presents a chance to connect with and keep this new audience.

For tailored marketing solutions for your brand, work with WITHIN. We offer lifecycle marketing services that help your brand build and maintain a loyal customer base, boost brand loyalty and drive revenue growth. 

Our approach focuses on developing personalized marketing strategies that align with your brand’s objectives and customer insights. Contact us to see how WITHIN can assist in refining your customer retention strategies to drive revenue and improve your brand’s success.