It’s the holiday season. Brands know it’s time to enhance their strategies to boost sales and end the year on a high note. Whether offering enticing discounts, introducing new products, or launching special holiday campaigns, companies pull out all the stops to capture consumers’ interest.
But making quick sales is the easy part. The real challenge is turning seasonal shoppers into loyal, long-term customers. Is it possible? Yes!
With a strategy that optimizes customer experience, businesses can keep customers returning long after the holiday buzz dies down.
This post will help you develop an actionable game plan to nurture, retain, and convert one-time buyers into your brand’s biggest fans—from automating follow-up emails to offering stellar support after sales.
*Note: The brands and examples discussed below were found during our online research for this article.
How do holiday deals play a role in customer acquisition?
A report by Adobe Analytics projects $240.8 billion in online spending between November and the end of the year—an 8.4% increase from last year. Small businesses that can establish strong sales this holiday season will undoubtedly have a leg up in the year ahead.
Holiday deals offer several short-term benefits for retail brands. First, customers are more willing to jump on those limited-time offers. A recent survey found that price is a key factor in 50% of holiday shoppers’ decisions, with discounts swaying 22% of sales. Consumers love saving money, so discounts and sales increase the likelihood of a purchase.
Holiday deals also boost a brand’s exposure, getting your name in consumers’ mouths. This gives you a chance to turn your holiday shoppers into long-term customers, improving customer acquisition rates.
But, while you may attract new buyers with irresistible deals—like a buy one get one deal or discounts—building a buzz around your brand that lasts beyond the holiday rush requires an intentional strategy.
Can you optimize holiday deals to build customer loyalty?
Yes! Holiday deals are a great way to build long-term relationships with customers. When you offer unparalleled experiences, customers are more likely to stick around. Throw in an opportunity to leave comments and launch post-holiday campaigns, and you have the perfect recipe for retaining customers.
Here’s a deeper look at how your brand can optimize holiday deals to build brand loyalty:
Offer value beyond discounts
Holiday deals are the perfect opportunity to showcase your value. There are various ways to do this.
First, you can bundle complementary products during social media holidays like Black Friday or Cyber Monday and offer them at a lower price. This allows customers to try more of your offerings.
You can also offer exclusive experiences—early access to holiday sales or VIP shopping events—to show that you’re not just focused on moving inventory.
Providing added value through bundle products and exclusive experiences helps your brand build a deeper connection with clients, positioning it as one that cares about customer experience.
Encourage social proof and referrals
It’s no surprise that modern customers use reviews to make purchasing decisions.
In fact, surveys revealed that 95% of shoppers say customer reviews factor into their buying decisions, and 92% hesitate to make a purchase when a product has no reviews.
So, encourage customers to share feedback on your holiday deals. Here’s how:
- Reach out to frequent buyers: Asking for reviews shows you value your customers’ opinions.
- Send automated email review requests: Use platforms like MailChimp and Omnisend, to send review requests after each holiday transaction.
- Create a reviews section on your website through third-party apps: There are many review apps to choose from—Google, Trustpilot, Yelp, Facebook, Google, and TripAdvisor.
- Embed a text box in the review request emails: This allows customers to leave a review without being redirected to another page or logging in. Customers are more likely to offer feedback when the process is easy.
- Incentivize customers: Launch a feedback collection campaign with generous discounts for customers who give reviews and refer friends to your brand.
- Thank customers for their reviews and referrals: Reply to good and bad feedback. Send a follow-up email of appreciation to show customers you value their input and resolve any issues quickly.
Reviews create necessary social proof to make a brand stand out in today’s highly competitive market. They can make potential customers trust your business and drive repeat purchases.
Utilize post-holiday engagement campaigns
How much effort your business puts into post-holiday marketing campaigns determines whether your sales plummet or rocket after the festivities.
Engaging customers after the holiday season through deals like New Year’s clearances and follow-up communication keeps your brand on your consumers’ radar.
Here are some tips to create compelling post-holiday campaigns:
- Use data from the holidays: Analyze data from the holiday season to improve your post-holiday campaigns. This should be relatively easy with the right tools. If you use Bitly for holiday campaign planning, you can analyze data from your links and QR Codes to identify offers that get the highest engagement and locations with the most active customers. These insights can inform post-campaign deals and targeting strategies.
- Offer limited-time offers to create a sense of urgency: These could be clearance sales or “thank you” offers. Such deals motivate customers to make purchases before the promotion ends.
- Leverage multiple marketing channels: Don’t stop promoting your brand just because the holiday season is over. Market yourself on multiple mediums, including social media, email, and print.
Successful holiday deal strategies to attract long-term customers
Brands can benefit significantly with strategic holiday deals—think exposure, engagement, and long-term customers. Here are three approaches both big enterprises and small businesses take to attract and retain clients during the holiday season:
Holiday loyalty strategy
Brands use holiday deals and follow-up efforts to create an engaging experience that builds customer loyalty. Target attracts customers with holiday promotions, like BOGO and flash sales. These deals are alluring to customers, bringing in even those who may not have shopped at the store before.
The retail brand also offers gift cards extending beyond the holiday season. This excites customers about shopping with Target and gives them a reason to return to the store after the holiday.
Further, customers are encouraged to join the Target Circle loyalty program to get exclusive deals and earn awards on every purchase. Post-holiday, these awards or points are redeemed for discounts, creating an incentive to shop with the brand year-round.
Post-purchase retention strategy
Your post-purchase retention strategy can make or break customer loyalty. So, it’s essential to optimize it.
A customer makes a holiday purchase at a hypothetical athleticwear brand, FitLeisure. As part of the post-purchase customer experience, FitLeisure sends the customer a special holiday thank-you email with a coupon code for 50% off their next purchase. This is a great way to show appreciation for customers and give them an incentive to shop again, building a potentially long-lasting relationship with repeat purchases.
Another tactic to promote customer retention is exceptional customer support. By offering a knowledgeable support team, you can address post-sales issues, build trust, and bolster long-term loyalty.
Imagine that a FitLeisure customer receives a holiday order with the incorrect-sized item a week before the holiday, so they contact customer service.
In Scenario A, the customer reaches out via email. It takes customer service four days to respond. They don’t apologize, but offer a full refund and replacement item—after the customer sends the incorrect item back. In this scenario, the correct item won’t be delivered until well after the holiday.
In Scenario B, the customer also reaches out by email. Customer service responds within 24 hours, apologizing for the oversight and offering to ship the correct item the same day. The item arrives two days later, giving the customer plenty of time to give the item as a holiday gift.
Which customer service scenario do you think would encourage positive word of mouth and result in an excellent customer experience? If you said B, you’re right. When holidays are involved, timeliness and grace can have an even greater impact on the customer’s experience with your brand.
Unique holiday offers
The holiday season is the perfect time for small businesses to get creative and capture new customers’ attention.
Imagine a candle business called SweetMagnolia, a local candle shop specializing in eco-friendly, scented candles. Here are some holiday offers SweetMagnolia could consider to maximize its customer lifetime value (CLV) :
- Offer a “Buy One, Gift One” holiday special: For every candle purchased, a customer receives a beautifully wrapped mini candle to gift a friend. This tactic attracts your target audience and introduces your brand to new customers.
- First-time shopper discount: Offer 15% off for all first-time purchases during the holidays to help customers experience SweetMagnolia’s products at a lower cost.
- “New Year, New Scents” subscription: Introduce a subscription service where customers receive a curated selection of scented candles every three months. Offering a discount on the first box can get customers hooked and ensure repeat purchases.
- Launch a point-based challenge: Customers earn a point for every dollar spent and 10 points for tagging SweetMagnolia on social media. At the end of the year, top earners are invited to participate in a crafting event. Incorporating gamification in loyalty programs creates excitement and motivates customers to continue engaging with a brand.
These special holiday offers would attract new customers and encourage repeat business, which is key to increasing CLV.
How to use digital tools to help retain holiday customers
Retaining new customers may seem tedious—email marketing, social media engagement, and consistent follow-ups can feel like an endless list of activities you can’t escape.
But this process doesn’t have to leave you feeling like a Grinch. There are a handful of digital tools to streamline customer retention:
Bitly’s branded links and QR Codes
Bitly branded links reinforce your brand identity every time they’re shared since they incorporate your brand name. You can use these in emails, social media posts, or anywhere online to inform customers about promotions.
Bitly’s short links are trackable, helping you monitor customer engagement (number of engagements, devices used, engagement locations, and referrers). This data can show you which content and offers resonate with your audience so you can incorporate them into retention campaigns. It can also show you common devices used by your customers as well as their locations, informing optimization and targeting strategies.
Bitly Codes also simplify how brands connect with consumers offline and online. For example, you can use a QR Code on posters to direct customers to a landing page where they can find exclusive post-holiday offers.
As with Bitly Links, you also receive tracking data on Bitly Codes to help you understand customers better and refine future follow-up campaigns.
Email automation tools for personalized email campaigns
Timely and tailored messages make customers feel special—generic messages just don’t cut it anymore.
However, sending frequent personalized emails can be a hassle. Fortunately, email automation tools like Mailchimp and Klaviyo take the headache out of these campaigns.
Here are some features that make them effective:
- Segmentation: Mailchimp and Klaviyo group customers based on various criteria—interests, spending habits, past purchases, or location. So, customers get suggestions that resonate with their needs and interests.
- Triggered campaigns: Automation tools like Mailchimp can send emails at a specific time or based on specific triggers—it could be right after a purchase, days later, or after contacting your customer support.
- Dynamic content: You can customize images, calls to action, and suggestions based on a customer’s preference.
- Consistent engagement: These email automation tools help you engage with customers consistently. By sending follow-up emails, you make customers feel appreciated, which can help build relationships and make them more likely to stay loyal.
Protip: You can coordinate email and SMS messages for slow seasons (post-holiday) to inform customers about exciting updates and promotions.
Customer feedback platforms
Knowing what went right and what didn’t can help you improve your future strategies. Maybe customers had problems with the packaging or loved the quick shipping. Feedback enables you to get the complete picture of your customer’s experience.
Feedback also gives you insight into what customers want so you can personalize experiences. A personalized touch makes customers feel more connected with your brand and encourages repeat visits.
Feedback platforms like Trustpilot and SurveyMonkey have made gathering insights from holiday shoppers easier. They have easy-to-use interfaces that let you create surveys quickly and distribute them across multiple channels. Further, they automatically capture and store responses, eliminating the need for manual data collection.
How do you measure the success of holiday deals in building customer relationships?
To determine the effectiveness of holiday deals in fostering long-term customer relationships, brands should focus on these key metrics:
- Customer retention rate (CRT): Track the percentage of customers who make repeat purchases after the holiday season. CRT helps brands assess the success of their retention strategies and identify areas to improve.
- Repeat purchase rate (RPR): Use RPR to determine how often customers return to buy again after their initial holiday purchase. Higher repeat purchase rates can indicate strong customer satisfaction and engagement.
- Customer lifetime value (CLV): Calculate the long-term revenue that may be generated from a customer acquired during the holidays. Analyzing CLV helps you understand the overall profitability of your holiday marketing efforts and informs you of future budget allocation.
- Net promoter score (NPS): Use NPS surveys to gauge customer satisfaction and likelihood to recommend your brand. High NPS scores among holiday shoppers signal a strong potential for loyalty and word-of-mouth marketing.
Turn holiday shoppers into long-term customers this season
Whether it’s with attractive discounts, giveaways, or flash sales, holiday deals can help you attract new customers. But turning them into loyal patrons requires more than just deals. It’s essential to offer them value, personalize follow-up communications, and use insights to build stronger connections.
Bitly has a plethora of tools that can elevate these efforts. With Bitly Links, you can create custom-branded URLs to include in your post-purchase channels: SMS follow-ups, emails, and more.
To get insights into the performance of these links, you can leverage Bitly Analytics. This feature shows how customers engage with your links, allowing you to refine retention tactics.
Ready to elevate your customer post-holiday experience with trackable links and advanced analytics? Sign up for Bitly today!
