Is B2B Marketing Dead During the Holidays?

When Should You Do Marketing?

Every day is a good day to be marketing. Have you heard the term “always be marketing”.

It’s not being pushy, salesy or obnoxious all the time.

It more about watchfulness and vigilance about opportunities to share the value of your services and products.

Which Quarter is Best For Marketing?

• First quarter, you want to get things off to a good start, so marketing is good then. People are recovering from the holidays, so remind them of what you do.
• 2nd quarter, you want to bring in clients and close deals before they disappear for the summer. And you want to catch those prospects that may have a June 30 fiscal year end.
• 3rd quarter, you want to set things up to end the year strong. Since the federal government fiscal year ends in September, lots of opportunities become available at this time. Hopefully you’ve subscribed to get notified of any new government posting.
• Then there’s 4th quarter, which for many companies is the “make or break” portion of the fiscal year. There’s still time to bring in that extra revenue needed to meet your sales and revenue goals. Often in the b2b arena, there are extended sales cycles. But October is often still a good option for closing deals. You want to take advantage of any leftover budget money that clients may have. November is a little iffy to get things done, but it is the start of the holiday season in the United States. And I maintain that November and December are great times to be marketing.

Holiday Marketing Suggestions:

If you’re in retail, it’s rather obvious what you need to do. Just look what your competitors are doing and at all the advertising that proliferates at this time. And, whether you have an online business or a traditional business-to business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) business, you can find clients and increase exposure during the holidays.

9 Subtle Holiday Marketing Ideas

1.   Send Holiday Cards. You will stand out in this digital world. Most people only get bills and junk mail via the postal service. So a nice greeting will be welcome.

2.   Festive Social Media Graphics. Add festive touch to your social media graphics. Most people put one header and never change. Since the search engines like content, a change in your social look and feel could be perceived as new content.

3.     Attend Holiday events.

People are more relaxed, open and receptive at this time . Their guards are down. And they’re likely to be more appreciative of life in general.. You’re not only on the outlook for prospects, but also for other business people you can partner and joint venture with.

4.   Celebrate a Non-Holiday Event

Disruption gets attention! If want to differentiate yourself, recognize a non-holiday event. Here’s some examples

What Happened in November?

1921 Albert Einstein receives the Nobel Prize in Physics

 1989 Berlin Wall Comes Down between East and West Berlin

1966 U.S. Roman Catholic bishops did away with the rule against eating meat on Fridays.

 1863 famous Gettysburg Address delivered by President Lincoln

 1969 Apollo 12 lands on the Moon

What Happened in December?

Chanukah is the Jewish eight-day, wintertime “festival of lights,”

1955 Rosa Parks initiates the civil rights movement by refusing to give up her seat in the front section of a bus

1941 Bombing of Pearl Harbor and US Enters World War II

1964 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize

1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful man-powered airplane flight

Boxing Day is a secular holiday celebrated in UK and other countries on the day after Christmas Day.

Kwanzaa is a week-long annual celebration in the United States by African African-Americans to celebrate their African heritage, culture and values.

5.     Product Promotions : discounts off current or next purchase.

You already know about Black Friday and Cyber Monday are insane shopping days in the United States. But around 20 countries how have decided they like the idea of mass sales and a collaborative shopping event, have implemented Black Friday “holiday” sales of their own. And with the rise of online shopping, countries around the glob have adopted Cyber Monday sales as well.

6.     Give a Thank You Dinner / Gift / Note

In this day of political correctness, you can skip mention of the holidays and just show year end appreciation to loyal customers or clients. And don’t forget to appreciate your employees. People like to do business with companies recognized as great places to work.

7.     Donate to a Charity or Cause

You could make a donation outright or designate a percent of sales as a donation. Of course you will have to self promote, so they will know what you’re doing,

8.     Exhibit at, Sponsor or Host Holiday Event

You can also get your products in front of more eyes by showcasing them at special shows or events throughout the holiday season. If it’s not your own event, make sure sponsors and exhibitors are highlighted.

9.   Volunteer at food banks and toy drives. – Great relationships are made this way.

And The Answer Is?

So to the question of whether B2B marketing is dead during the holidays, the answer is NO!

It ain’t over til it’s over, so sprint to the end. At any time, you still have a chance to reach your goals. And if the revenue happens to fall short, take heart. You still have time to give and make more of an impact in your world and community. And that’s ultimately what the holiday season is about.