Social Edge Live, Episode 30: 12 Days of Christmas, Will You Be Participating?

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and you know what that means: sale, sales, and more sales. One foolproof promotion we always recommend running as a small business is a 12 Days of Christmas Campaign. For those of you who unfamiliar with a 12 Days of Christmas Campaign, let us break it down for you.

What it is:

It’s a 12-day super sale that happens during the month of December. Each day a special deal on a new featured item is available to your customers. The featured items can be seasonal, high-ticket or items that need to sell before Christmas, like decorations and gifts. You want it to be a nice, cohesive blend of items that peak customer interest.

How to run it:

You should announce the deal of the day the night before or early that morning allowing it to be available as long as possible. Announce it across all your social platforms. We suggest going live or sharing a pre-record a video (you can’t escape using video!). You’ll then support the announcement with an email marketing blast and posts on Instagram, Instagram Stories, Snapchat, etc. Make it clear about what the deal is, include dates, exclusions, while supplies last if you don’t plan on ordering more. You want to create a sense of urgency so people come shop in-store that day! Offer to hold items for people if they comment online or call your store, but set a time limit for how long you’ll be able to hold it for.

When to run it:

Retailers run it beginning December 1st or December 12th. Many prefer starting on the 1st to avoid having it end so close to Christmas.

Best Practices:

Whether people mention the promotion or not, the deal of the day is applicable to anyone shopping in-store. It’s all about experience, and only offering the deal to some people and no others is going to create a bad experience.

You typically don’t make much profit on the featured item since it’s being discounted. It’s you and your team’s goal to upsell and get people shopping to spend more while in-store. Also, use this as a tool to collect as much new customer information as possible to help you with future marketing and sales initiatives.

Is your deal good enough to get people through the door? Do your best to stand out and catch people’s attention.

Promote each deal to get the most exposure and to fully optimize it. You don’t have to break the bank to get your pots seen. We’ve seen success in as little as a $25 budget over the full 12 Days. It’s all a numbers game, the more people that see your deal the more foot traffic you’ll be able to get. Look back at email open rates and video views to make sure people are seeing it, and make adjustments accordingly. 

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