How to prep your marketing stack for holiday retail campaigns
We’re just about to enter that golden quarter, and let’s be honest, this time of year can feel a bit like running daily marathons – adrenaline-fuelled, chaotic and occasionally painful. Between Black Friday, Cyber Monday and that magical post-December sale rush, it’s your moment to shine and reap the rewards of your hard work. But, if your marketing stack isn’t ready to handle the pressure, it can fall apart faster than a couple debating whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie…
So, before the festive madness begins, let’s make sure you’re well and truly prepped to take on the shopping frenzy (merchants, we’re looking at you) and that you squeeze as much out of this season as possible.
Supercharge your email
Email is not dead. They are the unsung heroes of holiday sales - but only if they’re firing on all cylinders. Here’s some tips to make sure you’re nailing your email campaigns at a time when inboxes are bursting with offers.
Segmentation: Don’t blast the same message to everyone. Use past behaviour, preferences, and demographics to create relevant, compelling offers.
Automations: Make sure your abandoned cart, browse reminder, and post-purchase flows are not only working, but optimised for conversion.
Deliverability: Check sender reputation, clean your list, and get cosy with those spam filters before your most important campaigns go out.
Have fun: Inject some brand personality into your comms. Stand out amongst all the subject lines offering free delivery or heavy discounts. Jump on trends with cultural references and utilise personalisation for building familiarity.
Make your data work harder
If your customer data is stuck in a spreadsheet or siloed across five tools, it’s not going to help you much. Data is key to understanding your customers and tapping into their subconscious desires. Sound intrusive? Well, it kind of is. But, utilising what you have will ensure your customers get what they want, when they want it.
Now’s the time to:
Connect your CRM, e-commerce platform, and analytics tools
Set clear goals (e.g. revenue from email, conversion from paid social)
Build simple dashboards so your team can track performance in real-time
The more visibility you have, the faster you can pivot when something’s not working (and high-five your team when it is).
Plan your social like a pro
Social feeds will be more crowded than a toy aisle on Christmas Eve. So:
Refresh creative frequently to avoid fatigue
Use retargeting smartly - especially for high-intent shoppers
Influencers are your friends and will bring more customers in
Everyone loves a Christmas ad – now is the time to invest in professional video production
Bonus tip: sync your social media channels with your email and website messaging so your customer journey feels seamless.
Optimise your on-site experience
No amount of great marketing will help if your website falls over during a flash sale. Your homepage is your shop window, so it needs to pull your customers in further with a hook and great calls to action. Your checkout page is your till – a long queue or bad customer service? You’ve just lost another sale.
Get your website ready for the influx. Run through the checklist:
Mobile-first?
Site speed tested?
Checkout process frictionless?
Gift guides, FAQs, and delivery cut-offs clearly visible?
Check out our blog on ‘The importance of load testing: is your website ready for a traffic surge?’ to get all the info you need on understanding why testing and preparing your website for peak periods is essential.
Don’t forget lifecycle campaigns
Holiday campaigns often focus on the sale, but you shouldn’t sleep on post-purchase. The end-game isn’t your customer reaching checkout.
Make sure your stack supports:
Easy-to-set-up loyalty/referral flows
Timely follow-ups and upsells
Requests for reviews and user-generated content
Turning one-time shoppers into long-term fans? That’s how you win the long game and see the rest of the year through.
Ready, set, sleigh.
The holidays are coming - fast. Your content plans are likely already in place, but the above tips are changes you can make right now. With the right marketing stack in place, you can go into peak season calm, confident, and ready to convert.
Need a second opinion on your current setup? Or help plugging the gaps before the big push? Let’s talk. We’ll help you streamline your stack, reinvigorate your creative, and set yourself up for a festive season that delivers.