Compass Sneak Peek

The holiday shopping and gifting season is upon us, and with it, the chance to give the gift of experiences and spend quality time with friends and family. This seasonal excitement presents a huge opportunity for businesses in the tour and activity space. 

So how do you make the most of the Black Friday weekend (and the rest of the season!)? We have a few ideas up our sleeve.

1. Incorporate seasonal campaigns into your content calendar

The sooner you start preparing for big shopping days like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday, the better your campaign will go. If you put time and energy into the process, the outcome will naturally follow suit.

Here are a few questions to get the brainstorm started:

• What do we want to push customers towards? Seasonal items? Gift cards? Best-sellers? Package deals?
• Will we offer a discount? A branded item with purchase?
• How do we want to advertise our promotions?
• Do we want to send out an email? Should we segment our email list?
• Which social sites should we market on? What hashtags could we use?

2. Take advantage of gift cards

Because they eliminate the need for tricky details like dates, times, and even group size, gift cards are an easy sell in your off-season, especially as people begin buying gifts for the holidays.

If you use FareHarbor as your online booking system, you can sell gift cards just as easily as you sell any other item. 

Don’t hesitate to promote gift cards on your homepage and in your email marketing campaigns. They’re an easy purchase for your customers, and 80% of gift card holders end up spending more than the original value (Fiserv).

3. Offer a deal they can’t pass up

Consumers are constantly searching for the best deals online — and the holidays are no different. Even if you don’t offer promotions throughout the year, consider adding a Black Friday or Cyber Monday promo code to your website.

Promotions are also a great way to capture new audiences and first-time bookers. Try adding a 10% off code to your website and promote it prior to the holidays. Create a sense of urgency by putting a time frame on when customers can use the code to book. 

Make sure to promote your discount code and drive website traffic utilizing different channels:

• Post the promo code discount on all your social media channels. Facebook and Instagram are great places to reach large audiences at once. Make sure to include a link to your website so they can start booking right away!
• Send an email promoting the discount. Utilize your FareHarbor contact list or other CRM lists to promote your discount to customers. 
• Add the promo code to your website. Update your website with a blurb or banner about your special holiday promotion.

4. Get serious about social sharing

If you collected user content last year, such as customer reviews and photos, now is the time to put it to use. 

If you didn’t, focus on collecting it this year and then use it to boost Black Friday sales in the future.

Here are some ways you can encourage social sharing from your customers:

• Feature your customers’ content on your own social pages or blog whenever they tag your business or use your hashtag.
• Offer a discount, stickers, or t-shirt to customers who @mention your business, check-in on Facebook, or use your hashtag.
• Run a contest on social media. Check out these eight ideas to get you started.

5. Go big on email marketing

With so many sales and deals to choose from, it’s easy for your business to get lost in the noise. An email marketing campaign can put your offerings directly under the nose of your customer base, whether they are local or from afar. 

Here are a few tips to ensure email success:

• Create anticipation. Sending your first email out before the promotion begins helps overwhelmed consumers prioritize their shopping strategy, and it creates anticipation for what’s to come.
• Give extra love to past customers. The best way to create loyal customers is to show them just how much you appreciate them. An additional discount or early-bird access helps transform a past customer into a full-on brand advocate.
• Make sure your emails are mobile-friendly. Big, bold, image-heavy designs can be tempting — just make sure it’s all mobile-friendly. There’s nothing worse than getting your email in front of the right person, then losing the sale because your call-to-action button is hard to find on mobile.
• Include CTAs that link directly to the promotion. Don’t forget to link your call-to-action directly to the item that you’re promoting. This prevents the user from having to click around your site, thus increasing your chances of converting the customer.

Whether you try all of these strategies or just one, take advantage of the increased engagement that comes with the holiday season.