holidays Archives - Wellons Communications

Marketing the holidays: 5 quick and easy ways you can reach customers this holiday season

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Wellons team

It seems like every year, the holidays creep closer and closer up the calendar. You may have even walked into a big box store recently to be greeted by a display of trees and lights—all before Halloween.

But whatever your thoughts on premature cheer, the early displays might have one upside. It’s a good reminder that you should already be planning your strategy for reaching your customers this holiday season.

Before the weight of anxiety settles upon you, let us say that this doesn’t have to be complicated—but you should do it. Q4 is a key time for many businesses, and a little foresight, combined with creative thinking and simple execution, can make a big difference for your bottom line. Here are five quick and easy ways you can reach customers this holiday season, whatever your strategy.

Social media

This tactic probably isn’t a surprise. People these days spend so much time scrolling on their phones, and social is a natural way to reach customers. But your efforts don’t have to stop with plenty of organic posts touting your product or end-of-year sale. Put on your thinking cap and come up with a creative campaign themed to the holidays. Dive into the season of giving with giveaways, partnered with favorite brands or influencers. Or, run a retargeting campaign so your customers see your product at every turn and can quickly check it off their gift list.

Email marketing

You (hopefully) use a robust email list all year long to reach your customers. But, at a busy time like the holidays, it doesn’t hurt to up the messaging and try to stand out. Plan a countdown campaign, with gift ideas every day leading up to Christmas, or launch a contest with eye-catching, lucrative prizes people actually want to win. And don’t forget to segment. Offer tiered discounts and perks to your best customers to drive serious sales and nurture those relationships.

Traditional PR

Don’t sleep on the power of true PR. Having your product included in a gift guide, whether it’s an influential trade publication or a popular website, can be a grand slam in terms of holiday sales as people are searching for ideas. Even sending samples to great influencers or bloggers in your space for a gift guide feature can help you both reach new audiences and bolster SEO, which can support the bottom line.

Holiday cards

You get them every year from family and friends and maybe send your own. Why not do the same for your business? Especially if you’re on the B2B side of things, a card from your team can add a personal touch and let clients and prospective clients alike know you’re thinking about them this holiday season. Like this idea? Now is the time to order.

Personalized gifts

When it comes to holiday marketing, it’s easy to think about customer acquisition. But don’t forget about some of your best customers—your current clients! For those involved in business to business industries, a personalized gift to some of your best contacts, or even some highly qualified leads, can help you stand out among the noise in a highly busy, highly competitive season. Whether it’s a gift basket, piece of marketing swag, a digital gift card (perfect in the time of COVID) or even a donation to charity in their name, a personalized gift is a high-touch show of customer service and can bolster your relationship.

With a little planning, the holiday season can be a huge opportunity for any business. But you shouldn’t let it stop there. While you’re at it, work to incorporate these tactics into a 2021 marketing plan, pinpointing key dates that make sense for your business—and keep the holiday cheer rolling throughout the new year.

Need some extra bandwidth to make it happen this year? Wellons Communications is your Orlando marketing agency, and we’re here to help. Give Will a call at (407) 462-2718 or shoot him an email at will@wellonscommunications.com.

Why you need to say “Thank You” to your clients

Posted on November 22, 2019 by Wellons team

There is no better time to express your gratitude for the business of your clients than to simply wish them well for the holidays.

Yet, surprisingly, sending a simple and direct message to your clients to let them know that you value the confidence they invest in you is an opportunity that is often overlooked.

Personal messages can cost virtually nothing. They take only a few moments. And the benefits can be immeasurable.

Here are a few ways to let your clients know you are grateful for their business.

The power of a personal note

When was the last time you received an actual hand-written note from someone?

Take five minutes to compose a short message that lets your client know you appreciate the business they have afforded you over the past year. The written word, in your own hand, is enormously powerful.

In an age when tweets, texts, and emails dominate communication, notes stand out. And all they cost is a few moments of your time and postage.

A phone call personalizes your gratitude

Just as simple as a personal note is a personal call to your client.

The act of simply picking up the phone and wishing your client a happy holiday is thoughtful and will stand out simply because you have thought of them.

Better yet, personalize the call by letting your client know you are generally familiar with their family or loved ones. Simply by extending the good wishes to one’s spouse or children in your call can let your client know you have their interests at heart.

What if you want to symbolize your thanks with a gift?

Everyone enjoys receiving gifts. But be careful. Gift-giving needs to be carefully thought through.

Who should you gift? Many companies forbid any corporate gift giving, or only allow employees to accept gifts valued at less than $25.

What should you give? The decision of what to give should comply with your client’s standards and directives on gift-giving and gift-receiving. Sending a gift to a client who’s unable to keep it is awkward for both parties.

The best solution? If you feel a gift is necessary, employ common sense and send a gift that is useful, not overly extravagant, and reflective of both your values and those of your client.

How do other organizations express their thanks during the holidays?

Want to explore more about addressing your client during the holidays, from contact to gift-giving?

You might want to glance at Do’s and Don’ts for Client Gifts Over the Holidays, authored by James Harris that first appeared in Entrepreneur Magazine in December 2017.

Harris’s article is loaded with tips and examples of approaching gift-giving and using gifts—and enhancing connections—with clients.

And thanks to you for taking an interest in Wellons Communications

As we approach the holiday season, those of us at Wellons Communications are grateful for your interest in us.

We value the responsibility and business our clients invest in us to address their public relations needs. We remind ourselves daily that if our clients succeed, we succeed, and without our clients, we do not exist. Best wishes to all for a Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful 2019 holiday season.

How would Santa use public relations?

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Wellons team

Santa needs PR?

“C’mon,” you scoff. “Santa needs PR like I need a hole in the head.”

But, when you step back and think more about it, even Santa has a genuine need for public relations assistance, just like your business needs public relations to both build sales and address issues that potentially could get in the way of sales.

So what kinds of challenges might Santa face?

Start with the elves. Are they happy with what Santa pays them? And what if they go public with their salary concerns? How does Santa react? What does he tell the public? And how does Santa communicate how the elf challenge is being resolved in time for Christmas?
What about the reindeer? Animal activists may frown on how Santa puts the flying reindeer to work each Christmas. How does Santa treat the reindeer the other 364 days of the year? Are they overworked? Should they even be used to deliver gifts, or should they be retired in favor of advanced technical solutions for delivery?
Weather challenges. How will Santa’s journey south be affected by winter storms that may be lurking in his flight plan? Who will serve as Santa’s spokesman to relay reassurance that the presents will, indeed, make it to their rightful place under the Christmas tree?
Credibility. At what age will children begin to ask, “Is Santa real?” And what do parents tell their kids when it becomes obvious that they will be soon facing some tough questions?

How would public relations help Santa?

The world as we know it changes every moment, which creates ever-changing challenges.

A well-organized, thoughtful and up-to-date public relations plan backed by knowledgeable professionals provides a means of dealing with those challenges.

Santa’s brand image ranks second to none, and it would be PR’s job to keep it that way.

Because of his high visibility, everything about Santa – and we mean everything – is subject to public scrutiny. Santa’s PR team would need to anticipate the tough questions that potentially can emerge and be prepared to address them. At the same time, the PR team needs to find new and different ways to ensure that Santa continues to hold his leadership position.

So why do you need public relations?

As you prepare to address the 2019 business year, ask yourself the same kinds of questions Santa’s PR team would ask themselves as they look ahead.

Those questions would include:

How can public relations help me market my product or service?
What kinds of newsworthy issues and challenges can hurt my business? And am I prepared to address them?
Are there newsworthy issues upon which I can capitalize?
Are my messages clear and understandable?
Will information about my product or service withstand intense scrutiny?
Am I missing an opportunity to affordably and effectively market my product or service by not including public relations?

Put public relations into your marketing mix for 2019

With the turn of the annual calendar right around the corner, now’s the time to look over your existing public relations plan and freshen it for 2019—or to create one altogether.

A practical action plan can be put into place to augment your overall marketing activities for a fraction of the cost of what you would invest in advertisements.

What’s more, when you bring an experienced, knowledgeable PR team to your side, you get considerably more than simply a publicity team. You acquire a team of marketing professionals who proactively help you sell your ideas while covering your back to fight off challenges that prove damaging to your enterprise.

Our recommendation: add PR to your marketing mix in 2019…think of it as a present for your enterprise.

Best wishes for a happy holiday season and a great 2019

At Wellons Communications, we have been fortunate to assist – and learn from – extraordinary clients whose successes we have been pleased to contribute to. We are, indeed, grateful for their business and we remind ourselves every day that it is a privilege to serve our clients and help them attain success.

We wish you the same kind of success for your business in the coming year.

Merry Christmas…and a prosperous and fruitful New Year.