The holiday season is an important time to rejuvenate and to recharge for a lot of people around the world. It’s also a great time to look into your business process to fine-tune things and be better positioned for the upcoming year.
Promoting a professional service online during the holiday season can be daunting and demanding. In this piece, the Encounter team has created 10 tips to help you understand the best practices that would help to increase reach, connect with people and generate revenue this holiday season.
1. Build An Engaging Community
To market your professional service well during the holidays you must pay attention to building a passionate community around the work you do. This group of people will be your brand loyalists who will amplify the core messages of your brand within their own networks. To build a vibrant community you must be relatable, share highly resourced materials, and make it easy for others to join. If you already have an existing community, this would be a good time to review it to make it twice as better.
2. Identify Your Audience And Go After Them
Who are the people who need your services? That is your target audience.
Focus your marketing efforts and brand message on a specific market that is more likely to buy your service. This is a much more affordable, efficient, and effective way to reach potential clients and generate business. To determine your target audience:
See who needs your service
Look at your current customer base
Check out your competitors’ customers
3. Offer Free Value That Keeps People Asking For More
The holiday season is the season of giving. Giving free value is one of the best brand marketing strategies you can use during the holiday period. When you give valuable free resources, people build trust in your business. For example, you can share facts or resources that give insight into your industry. Remove obstacles to reaching knowledge. Show that you’re not just another entity that wants to become rich and famous. Give consumers more than you ask from them.
4. Collaborate
Oftentimes we try to do things alone. You could reach multiple milestones when you learn to partner with a complimentary service provider to yours. Collaboration can help you see a new perspective that can contribute to your expanding network.
5. Listen To Your Audience
During the holidays, send your customers a survey form and review the feedback. Audience listening is key to developing content that resonates. A lot of professional service providers are recognizing that in today’s customer-centric environment, having a conversation is more important than pitching a service because in having a conversation you learn more about your target group.
6. Show Thought Leadership
Thought leaders are informed opinion leaders and the go-to people in their field of expertise. Showcasing thought leadership means you provide the best and deepest answers to customers’ questions in the formats your audience likes to consume and can understand. This affirms to your target audience that you are the best one for the job.
7. Leverage Speaking Engagements
You can get in front of your target audience physically or virtually to share knowledge and access growth opportunities. Speaking engagements allow you to demonstrate transparency and vulnerability—two key components of building a brand that consumers are eager to engage with.
8. Ask for Referrals
The holiday is a great time to let your existing customer base know that in the spirit of giving your business would appreciate referrals. You can also draw up an incentive plan to encourage this participation.
9. Update Your Website
Your website is your leading piece of asset on the internet. Aside from promoting services, websites are great for:
Creating brand visibility
Providing your business with another marketing channel
Driving online customers into your store
When you optimize your website you are making it easier for site visitors to understand your services. Check out our website services to Optimize Your Website Potential.
10. Send Thoughtful Gifts
Let your customers know that you value them. Send thoughtful personalized gifts, give coupon codes to shop, give discounts on your service, and much more to show some client appreciation. Which tips are you going to implement to Encounter Your Potential this holiday season?