.jpg)
%201.png){kind=avatar}
As shoppers go about their search for the perfect holiday gifts, retailers ramp up their marketing efforts in an attempt to attract their attention and their dollars. Unfortunately, constant exposure can create a negative perception instead of the must-buy frenzy you want. The strategies you develop and the ads you put a lot of resources in can end up having the opposite effect on consumer engagement.
Marketing fatigue, especially around the busy—and sometimes stressful—holiday shopping season, is a real threat to your brand's bottom line. You need to know how to avoid it, and how to make meaningful connections that resonate with their interests, tastes, and tolerances.
We asked Liz Saba, owner of Presley & Co. Fine Jewelers, about her concerns about over-communicating with clients:
“We used to have a goal to send 50 calls a day to our customers. We’d also send out a ton of physical mail. But with how much junk mail people are getting, we don’t want them to think we’re just more ‘junk.’ You can absolutely over-do it by sending them too much information too often.”
So how do you solve that problem? Saba says it’s all about personalization.
“It’s about making your customers feel like they’re not a number. It’s about becoming part of their family. That way they don’t go and buy online. That’s where Clientbook has been super helpful for me. I used to have to give out my personal cell phone number to my clients if I wanted to have a personal conversation with a client. Now, I can have them text messaging me on the store phone and the customer still feels special because you’ve given them that ability to text you. It’s more personal, and less business-like.”
What is marketing fatigue?
Consumers get bombarded with marketing all the time, especially online where every website and social media post is accompanied by ads and messages from businesses who want their money. The holiday season is stressful enough, and now they have to deal with all those come-ons. This leads to marketing fatigue.
A survey this year of younger consumers revealed that 67% expected marketing fatigue to set in this year, which is a marked uptick since the 26% of last year. The results are overwhelmed and confused shoppers who experience reduced engagement instead of the boost of brand enthusiasm that the marketers want. The more they see, the less impact it all makes, except when it comes to frustration.
Five tips to avoid holiday season fatigue while boosting sales
To stay competitive and boost sales without adding to this fatigue, retailers must strike a balance between effective promotion and thoughtful engagement. Focus on strategies that resonate with your customer base and foster genuine interest. Retail brands can maintain excitement and keep their audience energized and interested throughout the holiday season.
1 – Know your audience's preferences
If you know what your existing and prospective customers want and what they don't, it's much easier to avoid marketing fatigue. Not every customer wants the same types of messages, offers, or product recommendations. Don’t use a scatter-shot approach with the idea that more offers or ads are better. Instead, use your collected data to strategically plan things that form more meaningful connections.
One of the most important aspects of this is splitting your targets into audience segments. The practice of segmenting folks based on things like demographics, but more specifically by position in the customer journey, purchase behavior, interests, and similar specific things. This makes it much easier to send relevant messages to groups.
2 – Create meaningful and relevant content
While it’s easy to fall back on generic messages, instead, create content that creates an emotional connection with your brand and resonates with consumers on a personal level. Yes, you can promote products and offer simple ads focused on discounts or special offers. However, it also helps to stave off marketing fatigue if you offer something more.
Helpful gift guides, invitations to special events, or app features like virtual try-on options for clothing, educational content, and behind-the-scenes peaks at your company story can all work. By focusing on content that adds genuine value to their lives and relieves some of that holiday decision-making stress, you can foster deeper relationships and maintain interest throughout the holiday season.
3 – Use diverse marketing channels
Next, spread things out through multiple communication preferences and platforms. After all, you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket by investing all your resources and time on just one marketing channel. Not to mention a multi-channel approach allows you to reach more audience segments while avoiding fatigue that comes with overwhelming exposure to ads. Consider email, SMS text messages, direct mail like postcards, on-website marketing, in-app notifications, and more.
A tactic that Saba has found successful is messaging customers on Presley & Co.’s Instagram page:
“I really like to message people on Instagram. I’ve sold a lot through Instagram because people will message me for pricing or sizing after I post a photo or video, and it actually turns into a sale. Young people go to social media to look for jewelry. And they see you as a real business with real people.”
4 – Make things personal with clienteling
Like Saba was saying, someone who sees a marketing message that feels like it’s just for them, they are much more likely to act on it. The more personalized you make your efforts, the more likely you get this beneficial outcome. By leveraging customer data, you can tailor your outreach to the individual better. This goes beyond simple segmentation.
Clienteling makes every interaction feel like personal contact and imbues it with meaning and feeling. Instead of sending generic promotions, use clienteling to offer personalized product recommendations, exclusive offers, or early access to new collections based on a customer’s unique tastes. This personal touch not only enhances the shopping experience but also builds stronger relationships, helping your brand stand out in a sea of holiday marketing.
5 – Measure reactions and results in real-time
Finally having up-to-date client data is vital to avoiding marketing fatigue. This is where a clienteling app like Clientbook can help you use automation and AI to collect, track, and strategize for you. When you measure open rates for emails, engagement with social media posts, and other interactions with your content, you know what to pull back on, push harder, and can update on the fly for a better holiday season.
Conclusion
Clientbook makes data collection and analysis a breeze, and the results allow you to perfect your marketing strategy, messages, and efforts to avoid fatigue. The last thing you want to do is drive shoppers away during the holiday season. Take a demo today to see how you can avoid marketing fatigue and power up your efforts for the season and the new year beyond with Clientbook.
