Yes, it’s that time. For most of the general public, the thought of even thinking about Christmas right now is enough to drive them crazy. However, for a lot of businesses, particularly those in retail, it is well and truly go time and has us asking the pertinent question: Are you ready for Christmas yet?
The thought of preparing for Christmas can be quite a daunting one. Not only is it the most competitive time of the year for brands, it’s also the time of year where your customers expect greatness and it’s vital you can deliver it. That’s why we’re here to give you a few pointers which will help you check if you really are ready for Christmas.
Christmas content plan
If you’re reading this and you don’t have your Christmas content plan then you’re already way behind most of your competition. However, on the flip side, if yours is ready and your team is briefed then you’re well on your way to a merry few months. Your content plan is vital to your success, not just at Christmas but for any time of year. It’s an indication of what’s happening when and what your priorities are. It also ensures the whole team is aligned and everyone is pulling in the same direction.
Budget
Again, this should have been done well beforehand. It’s important to know the budget you have available for Christmas as you don’t want to find yourself in a sticky situation where you’ve overspent. Also, when the times comes to put together the campaign report, you can bet your bottom dollar the powers that be will be wanting that all important ROI number!
Competitor analysis
This one’s a little trickier but still important. The reason it’s tricky is because your competitors will keep their cards close to their chest and why shouldn’t they? However, it’s your job to be somewhat aware of their activity so you’re in primed position to react to anything they might do which hinders your plan. For example, if your main competitor launches a new range or a sale on the day you had planned to kick start key piece of your Christmas content marketing, then you may want to put a hold on it!
Establishing your KPIs
It’s important to measure success. Without establishing KPIs you’re not going to know what’s worked and what hasn’t, which means come next year it will feel like you’re starting from scratch again. KPIs also allow you to benchmark your success for future campaigns.
Other activity
Christmas takes up that much time that it can be easy to drop the ball on other activity. Now, other activity can be anything, whether that be your SS prep or even something as soon as New Year’s. Regardless of the importance of Christmas, the show must go on for other areas of the business.
So, there it is. Just a brief overview on how you can check If you’re ready for Christmas. If you need a hand with any of your campaigns, be that PR, social media, digital or creative, we’d be more than happy to have a chat so please feel free to give us a call.