How To Plan For 2020’s Q1 Sales

As Q4 begins to come to a close, it’s time to think about Q1. Consumers are moving away from gifts for their friends and family and instead focusing their disposable income back on themselves. What’s left of their disposable income anyway…

There are just a few weeks left in the year to plan for 2020. Here are four strategies to add to your list as we move into the new year. 

1. Leverage New Years Resolutions

Many shoppers are cashing in on gift cards and thinking of ways to bolster their start to the new year, or with their new resolutions. Frame your marketing for Q1 around this priority. Angelo di Simone, founder of Nuovaluce Beauty, shared that “customers want to know how your product will help them fulfill their goals for the new year, may it be through convenience, enhanced productivity, or their personal goals, such as beauty and physical exercise.” Consider what your target market wants most this new year, and how your product can help them get there.

In advance of releasing your new marketing messages, make sure to ask people in your target market what they’re most looking forward to working on in the new year. Using their language in your marketing messages will help it resonate better with your audience and will have a bigger impact. The research can be done by asking questions on your social media page, creating a survey for existing customers or simply striking up in-person conversations with people in your target demographic.

2. Continue With Holiday Discounts Or Specials

Just because the major holidays are over doesn’t mean there aren’t more holidays in Q1. Specifically: Valentine’s Day, another popular gift-giving occasion (and a great opportunity to create marketing content around giving your product to your customer’s partner) However, any type of federal holiday is an opportunity to run a special, even if there’s no custom to give gifts. Suzanne Wentley wrote for Groupon that “the federal holidays and other special days in January, February, and March are ideal times to attract new customers, who may require different incentives to continue spending.” These include President’s Day, Flag Day, or Groundhog’s Day. Make up a fun tie-in, such as, “If the Groundhog sees his shadow, 40% off hats and gloves this week!” to encourage engagement.

Wentley also advises to keep in mind the smaller and less known holidays, such as “chocolate covered cherry day.” There’s likely a small holiday focused on your product or loosely related (“science fiction” day, perhaps?) that can offer an opportunity to continue on with some creative marketing.If you aren’t a fan of discounting, that’s ok, you can still capitalize on holidays by adding value in other ways such as free shipping, private Facebook groups, digital products, personal attention, do-it-for-you services, etc.

3. Take advantage of Amazon And Amazon Ads

If you have a physical product, you may also want to list it on Amazon, for additional exposure (if you haven’t already).  Many business owners swear by Amazon techniques that helped them soar through Q1, such as integrating relevant keywords in their product pages to help with SEO. It helps when a customer searches for a product like yours and sees both your website and your Amazon page at the top of their search results.

Tara Darnley, founder of Darlyng and Co., shared with Fundbox that running targeted Amazon ads was a game changer for her competitive advertising capability. “Amazon ads are keyword-targeted… and designed to appear in high-visibility placements where customers can see them. When a customer clicks on the ad, the seller gets paid, and it increases the reach of the business,” writes Deborah Sweeney.

4. Focus On Content Marketing

If you haven’t planned for your Q1 content, now’s the time. Creating keyword-rich content that adds a ton of value to your reader will give you a return over and over again. One of my favorite content planners is from Greg Digneo, founder of Entice. He’s mastered how to plan, structure and create content so that it works hard for your business. 

Planning great content will generate traffic to your site for years to come if done correctly. It takes a bit of planning and research, but has a big payoff. Your efforts now is like planting an acorn. In a few years, you’ll have a sturdy oak tree. So put in the effort and watch it grow. 

As you start to plan 2020, add these strategies to your to-do list for Q1.