The Ultimate Guide to Holiday Marketing for Service Businesses

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Every holiday season brings more joy and happiness for those who celebrate. But it also brings joy to businesses. The holiday shopping season is a great time to pull the ace out of your sleeve. Think big, and start your holiday marketing strategy to boost sales.

Service businesses can benefit from holiday marketing regardless of the services they provide. You can capitalize on festive spirit and holiday sales irrespective of what you do. You can be a landscaping company, tourist agency, cleaning service, or anything else.

If you want to learn more about how to get the best out of this holiday season through a holiday marketing strategy, keep reading.

Why Holiday Marketing Is Crucial for Service Businesses

Every holiday season, consumers spend more money on perfect gifts than usual. 

A National Retail Federation used data from the U.S. Census Bureau to show that holiday retail sales in 2023 were projected to grow, reaching over $960 billion in total sales. These astonishing numbers showcase the importance of the season for service businesses and retail.

If you’re running a digital marketing agency or a consulting service, holiday travel can become a strategic asset in your holiday marketing campaigns. Business travel tips, such as booking travel early to save on costs, using travel rewards for discounts, and scheduling meetings around holiday events.can help you engage clients in a festive, personal way.

Plan Early and Stay Ahead

I won’t involve early birds and worms here, but the same goes for planning your holiday marketing strategy. Most consumers will prepare themselves for the holidays long before the season begins.

A Bankrate survey found that about 48% of shoppers will start their holiday shopping spree between August and October in 2024.

For service businesses, starting early allows you to:

• Build up the excitement and anticipation with consumers for your offerings;
• Create discounts and early-bird specials to get through the early buyers;
• Gain a significant head-start over competitors who start their holiday marketing campaigns later.

Set Clear Goals

Before launching your holiday marketing campaigns, you must set clear and measurable goals.

What is it that you wish to achieve during the holiday season? Some goals might include:

• Increasing sales by a specific percentage;
• Attracting a certain number of new customers;
• Increasing brand awareness;
• Building customer loyalty through promotions.

With your goals set, you can track the progress of your campaign and adjust your strategy as needed.

Create Festive Holiday Offers and Packages

Offer seasonal discounts and packages, which are a great way to attract more holiday buyers. If you provide exclusive holiday deals, you’ll tap into the festive spirit and create a sense of urgency among shoppers.

For example, Cruise America, a leading service provider of RV rentals in Florida, has launched a special Halloween promotion offering up to 20% off on rentals for Halloween trips. This offer not only draws in customers looking for a unique holiday experience but also encourages early bookings, ensuring a steady stream of revenue.

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Implementing marketing strategies, such as tailored promotions heone above will better resonate with customers. Moreover, they will better align with their seasonal needs and interests.

Offer Limited-Time Discounts and Deals

Holiday discounts and promotions are a proven way to drive more business during this period. Studies show that holiday shoppers are actively looking for deals. A staggering 84% of consumers claim that discounts influence their purchasing decisions.

Some discount ideas you should use include:

• Early Bird Discounts: Reward customers who book your services before a specific date;
• Holiday Flash Sales: Create limited-time offers that generate excitement and urgency;
• Bundle Deals: Encourage shoppers to buy more by bundling services at a discounted rate.

Leverage Social Media for Maximum Impact

Social media platforms are vital tools for holiday marketing.

With more than 3.6 billion people using social media worldwide, these platforms allow service businesses to perform great with their marketing strategies. Companies can connect directly with their audience, promote special offers, and share festive content.

Here are a few ideas on how to make your social media strategy a more effective one:

• Create Engaging Holiday-Themed Content: Post photos, videos, and stories that showcase your services in a festive light. You can share behind-the-scenes holiday preparations, highlight your staff, or offer helpful holiday tips.
• Run Holiday Contests: Get your followers involved by running holiday-themed contests or giveaways. For example, a cleaning service could give away a free home cleaning to one lucky winner who shares your post or tags friends.
• Use Hashtags: Incorporate popular holiday hashtags like #HolidayDeals, #FestiveSeason, and #HolidayCheer to increase the visibility of your posts.

One of the best examples of this approach is Beaches of Normandy Tours. It’s a WWII-focused tour agency known for its thoughtful social media presence, especially on Facebook.

Whether they post a quiz or a regular update on their tours, such as Band of Brothers, their content consistently offers value to their audience by sharing engaging historical knowledge. They remain true to their mission even during holiday campaigns or marketing offers.

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Their holiday posts might promote a discount on tours. But what’s interesting is they feature lesser-known historical facts relevant to their landmarks. This enhances the relevance of their offer and strengthens their bond with followers. In the end, all this helps build long-term brand loyalty.

Build a Strong Social Media Presence

Take a look at this branded video promoting Cloudbed’s hotel management solutions. It takes a humorous approach to highlighting the benefits of using Cloudbeds to overcome common problems hotels might face. This is especially true around the holiday season.

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Social media helps build excitement and engage with potential customers while keeping your brand on top of their minds. Creating branded videos for your holiday marketing is a great way to promote your service business.

Have you tried it yet?

Use Email Marketing to Stay Connected

Email marketing is the best way to reach your audience during the holidays. According to Statista, in 2023, around 52% of marketing professionals have experienced a two-time ROI improvement rate (Return On Investment).

These numbers prove our point. Email campaigns are a highly cost-effective marketing tool.

A successful holiday marketing campaign goes beyond promoting sales. It involves staying aligned with your brand’s core values and delivering meaningful experiences to your audience.

Build a Holiday Email Campaign

Your next holiday email campaign should include the following:

• Holiday Promotions: Highlight any seasonal deals or discounts you’re offering.
• Holiday Gift Guides: Suggest services that make great holiday gifts. These may include gift cards or service bundles.
• Last-Minute Reminders: Send reminders to customers who may need to remember to book services in advance. Go with something like “Last Chance to Schedule Your Holiday Cleaning!”

It’s important to craft timely and relevant email content. Why? It will help you will drive more bookings and increase overall customer engagement.

Partner With Local Businesses to Expand Reach

Collaborating with other local businesses is an excellent idea. It will help expand your customer base during the holidays. You’ll open the doors to create joint promotions when forming new partnerships. These promotions will benefit both businesses while boosting brand awareness and reaching a wider audience.

Example Collaborations

• A landscaping company could partner with a local holiday décor store. They can offer a “Holiday Yard Makeover” package, in which both services are discounted when purchased together.
• A Spa could collaborate with a nearby café to offer “Relax and Sip” holiday packages, in which customers receive a massage and a free holiday drink.

These partnerships allow both businesses to promote each other and offer customers added value during the holiday season.

Optimize Your Website for Mobile

More than 58% of internet traffic now comes from mobile devices. This means it’s vital that your website is mobile-optimized. During the holidays, many consumers browse and book services while on the go. So, if your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you risk losing potential customers.

Check out these few tips for optimizing your site:

• Fast Loading Times: Your website should quickly load on mobile devices.
• Simple Navigation: Make navigating your site easy for users. This will help them find information and book services without a problem.
• Mobile-Friendly Forms: Booking forms and payment processes must be smooth on mobile.

Regarding mobile optimization, you can use AI voice generators as part of your mobile-friendly holiday marketing strategy. AI voice tools allow businesses to send personalized holiday promotions, reminders, and greetings in a unique, engaging way.

In addition, they will help automate customer service and handle common inquiries quickly during the busy season. Integrating AI voice content into social media campaigns will allow businesses to create memorable interactions that capture attention.

A mobile-optimized website will improve your UX and help you capture more holiday business.

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Conclusion

With the right holiday marketing strategies, your service business can take full advantage of the festive season. 

Plan your campaign early, offer seasonal deals, leverage social media, and optimize your online presence. When done, you’ll be well-positioned to attract more customers and increase sales.

Don’t wait and start implementing these strategies today! It’ll make this holiday season your most successful one yet!

Author bio:

Guillaume Deschamps is a digital marketer focused on handling the outreach strategy at uSERP and content management at Wordable. Outside of work, he enjoys his expat life in sunny Mexico, reading books, wandering around and catching the latest shows on TV.