B2B Marketing Tips – A Survival Guide to the Holiday Haze

As the year ends, folks tend to be pretty sluggish time when it comes to their work. Their minds tend to wander to thoughts of family, dinners, or simply lounging about the office. It’s not exactly the best state of mind for talking business. Emails. Phone calls. Websites. Even professional social networks. None of these really suit the seasonal mood.

But then again, that’s exactly why B2B marketers can be at their busiest this time of year. (Assuming they’re not caught up in the same post-holiday snooze.) The trick lies in keeping the campaign alive without killing this mood.

Here’s one suggestion: treat the whole thing as if you were making greeting cards. Think about how fun it could be drawing all those trees, candy canes, and Santa Claus faces. You can design B2B marketing campaign in the same way. That way, your mind won’t end up slipping while still connecting with potential clients and boosting year-end sales.

• Recreate yourself online. Try to change the colors of your website to match the colors of the holidays. Make sure it’s not too distracting either. Think of what your office might look like around Christmas and New Year’s. Don’t just stop at your website either. Deck your social media pages as well. Finally, your email templates need to match these changes both in terms of looks as well as content. (e.g. work-related tips prior to Christmas breaks)

• Be flexible in your appointments. Don’t be too pushy when trying to set an appointment. Both your marketers and your sales reps need to keep this in mind. Make sure not to set any dates too soon either. Most likely, you’ll need a follow-up strategy the moment the next work year starts. You can even include this in your broadcasted messages. It can assure prospects that they won’t want to think too much about doing business with you while their minds are still on the season.

• Stay true with your updates. Disappointments are at their worst during this time of year. Nobody likes hearing the sad story of the kid who didn’t get anything from Santa. It’s the same when your clients aren’t told of any inconvenient scheduling beforehand. Should there be any conflicts or important changes to note, let them know immediately. Whether through it’s an established CRM system or manual email, your first priority is to get the message straight to them.

In short, combine seasonal redesign with a stronger emphasis on good lead generation practices. Particularly, don’t be pushy about getting the appointment or the sale right in the middle of the holidays. Just go along with the flow without necessarily getting caught up in it.

via Business 2 Community http://www.business2community.com/uncategorized/b2b-marketing-tips-survival-guide-holiday-haze-0727373?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=b2b-marketing-tips-survival-guide-holiday-haze