This Holiday, Focus on Value!

It’s almost hard to believe that the Holiday Season is here and with it comes a touch of anxiety for many businesses. There is a very real fear that consumers will be even more conscious of their spending this holiday season. With that in mind, many are wondering what they should do with their marketing to give them the best chance for sales during the season.

The easy way out is to discount, cut all spending where you can and hope to survive to fight another day! The problem with this philosophy is that consumers are trained to sniff blood and if you discount now, they’ll expect it (and even wait for it) in the future. Many businesses get stuck in that cycle and can never seem to get out.

If, however, you can show value, consumers will always pay a premium for that! Here’s 3 ways you can use marketing to show value proposition for your business or brand.

1. Endorsements – People love to know what others are buying this holiday season. Using a well known local, national or targeted personality will allow their peers to see value in a product. A national automotive company recently launched a social networking campaign asking key women in selected cities to try their product and post their feedback across their social networks.

2. On-site Product Demos – The fact is that people will believe value if they can see it in person. Look to see if there are any major events that reach your targeted consumer in your market and find creative ways to demo your product onsite. We are working on a concept with a national cellular company that has significantly faster downloads than their competitors. We are looking at key concert events where the comparison can be made in person to those core consumers.

3. Bonus product with purchase – If you just can’t seem to help yourself from discounting, then at least be creative with it. Instead of discounting on price, why not provide gift with purchase. If you are a retail store, provide an item that has maybe been slow to move or maybe a new item you want consumers to try as a “stocking stuffer” for purchases over $75, etc.

Hopefully at least one of these 3 tips will help you keep your holiday sales on track.