Money Lending Strategies for the Holiday Season

Holiday Season -The Best Marketing Season!!! Whereas this may sound absurd for lenders, latest statistics suggest that it may just be the best opportunity to redeem a year that has been battered by Covid-19 and boost customer loyalty for the future.

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), the year 2020 is projected to post historical holiday sales ending the season at $766.7 billion, an increase from last year’s $755.3 billion. This is due to tremendous consumer resilience and a willingness to spend on gifts that lift the spirits of family and friends after such a challenging year.

As if to confirm the above, this year’s Thanksgiving weekend shattered online shopping records, registering $34.4 billion in sales, a 15% YOY growth. Cyber Monday alone accounted for $10.8 billion of that total according to Adobe Digital Insights.

The shopping craze was driven by FOMO or fear of missing out. Financial services providers therefore have great opportunities to provide the much needed credit for both consumers and retailers through various quick financial products and solutions.

The following are some of the marketing strategies for lending business during this holiday season:

a)  Create holiday themed offers

Matthew Shay, the President and CEO of NRF recently stated that consumers plan to spend $1000 on gifts, holiday items such as decorations and food during this year’s festive season. The organization forecasts that holiday sales will increase between 3.6 percent and 5.2 percent over 2019.

Creating Christmas themed offers will therefore position your lending money business as the preferred provider of the much needed liquidity for the consumer as well as the retailer. Short-term financial products that are aligned to the season such as merchant cash advance, business credit cards and Christmas loans may add to the magic.

b)  Create a persuasive story about your business brand

As you gear up towards the shopping holidays, integrate your business’s story into your marketing campaigns. Think about the small beginnings of your business, the mission and vision, your target audience and how they’ll benefit. Consider your location goodwill and any other aspect that could help your customers feel more connected to your business and brand

You could also work with the local media to amplify your story. They are always looking for success stories and this will provide you with free publicity online and in print.

c)   Champion a cause for the season that addresses a particular societal need.

This could be food for the hungry, shelter for street families etc. You could also create space in your business premise for a drop-off location for donations such as dry foods and clothing which thereafter can be handed over to a local charity. Giving back to the community promotes your brand and increases foot prints in your business.

d)  Seek strategic partnerships

The season is a boon especially to retailers, and merchants while a slump period for others. Forming partnerships with the right businesses may open doors to greater business opportunities and new clients.

A great example is the Amazon Prime Visa card, a partnership between JP Morgan Chase and Amazon (a bank and a retailer) in 2019 which has since generated more business for both entities after they leveraged on their strengths in their respective markets.

Partnerships with local retailers may attract new clients and generate long-term business

e)  Get creative: adorn your business outlets and your online platforms

The holidays are a very visual time of the year. So dress-up your social media platforms and profiles and add oomph to your website by decorating it with Christmas colors and themes.

f)   Thank your customers

Appreciate your customers for the business they have given to you all year round. A simple card or email shows that you recognize their loyalty. Taking the time to send a personalized and hand written card will ensure that your clients remember you beyond the holiday season.

You could also send branded gifts such as t-shirts, pens or desktop calendars. This will boost their loyalty while sending a strong message out there about your brand.

g)  Finally, identify appropriate platforms to spread your message.

Find marketing channels that are the best fit for your business and it’s value proposition. Direct your resources to the strategies that offer best access to your target audience for the information you purpose to convey.

Some of the marketing channels examples you could consider include:

Websites and blogs: SEO optimized articles for the web and blogs are still the most effective ways of relaying crucial information to your target audience about your money lending business. Optimized web pages and blog posts increase web traffic and generate great leads because the web visitors do not feel forced but are rather persuaded to make a buy decision.

Email: Your email contact list is a treasure-trove of past and potential customers therefore use it to generate leads and convert prospects through promotional and customer retention emails. Let your customers know what your plans are for them during the holiday season.

Even if they won’t buy, they’ll know that they matter to your business and will be willing to come back at a future date.

Social Media: Given the penetration of mobile phones, latest research indicate that buying decisions and preferences are shaped as people check their phones more than 65 times a day. The number of times that one checks their phone before making the decision to buy are called micro-moments.

Companies are now optimizing their products and services on various social media platforms while studying consumer behavior so as to capitalize on micro-moments. Remember, during the pandemic, people have turned to social media more than ever.

Therefore optimizing your content on social media could easily increase your online visibility especially during the micro moments.

Find more tips to help you finish strong in this turbulent year.