In 2020, COVID-19 turned the business world upside down. It certainly won’t be the Christmas we’re used to enjoying. Many businesses have faced new, unique challenges that have left them counting the costs of this years’ events. But, it’s not all doom and gloom. With new challenges, comes new learnings and there are plenty of new opportunities for brands to explore in light of the pandemic. A different landscape
Despite the troubles, ecommerce has overall changed for the better. Here’s how:
- Consumers are shopping online now more than ever. This led to an ecommerce boom in 2020. In fact, Forbes predicts that COVID-19 accelerated ecommerce growth by four to six years
- A lot of people wanted to overprepare rather than under prepare. This led to stock shortages in supermarkets and disruptions in supply lines that affected retail businesses
During this year’s peak season, brands need to be especially sensitive to the current climate and give their customers a shopping experience that’s both comforting and delightful. An effective way to do this is by showing your brand cares about issues that truly matter by embedding strong company values in your marketing, especially during the holiday season.
Download the Crunch Time guide to learn ways to sustain the peak into the new year
Embedding company values in your Christmas marketing plan
Company values are a vital part of any marketing plan. 75% of Brits reported adopting ethical shopping practices in 2019 and 68% of customers said that they would be loyal to a brand if that brand shared their values. Due to the huge recent rise in conscious consumerism, it’s important to show consumers that your brand cares about world issues.
By showing that you share ethical values with your customers, you can increase customer loyalty, retention and overall revenue. Here are three ways you can achieve this:
Christmas marketing plan ideas for 2020
Welcome emails
Using welcome emails to showcase what your brand stands for to new customers is a great way to start building loyalty from the very first purchase. Boody successfully uses this tactic in their welcome emails. Their products are ethically sourced and processed and they waste no time making customers aware of this. This way, customers can be absolutely sure about their ethical purchasing decision.
It’s also worth noting that they give new members a 10% discount to encourage them to return and use it, kickstarting the cycle of repeat purchasing.
Positive reinforcement
By employing a loyalty program, you can reward customers for completing positive actions that align with your shared values. This is an excellent tactic to feed into the ethical decision making of consumers, creating a greater bond between the customer and your brand.
The beauty brand, Pacifica Beauty, gives customers 100 loyalty points for sending their empty packing to be recycled and reused. This clearly demonstrates the alignment of ethical values between the brand and the consumer and raises the likelihood of them shopping with the brand again.
Building a like-minded community
Use a shared cause between you and your customers to build a community of like-minded individuals. Perception of supplier ethics is very strongly predictive of online buyer repurchase chances. By building a community of customers who share similar values, such as recycling, you can focus on rewarding customers for this activity through your loyalty program, creating trust between a customer and your business.
With a loyalty program, you can further develop this sense of community with your program members. Acts, such as encouraging them to donate to charitable causes that involve your shared ethical values, establishes a feeling of working together towards a shared cause.
Annmarie Skin Care takes its customer community a step further and places all of its program members into a private Facebook group. This group creates a place where members of their brand community can come together to share their common interest in living an eco-friendly lifestyle.
Christmas is an ideal time to make customers feel safe and happy to shop with your brand. Bringing people together and showing that you share the same ethical values puts a heart in your brand, allowing your customers to feel connected to your business. This can be done with ease using the tips mentioned in this blog. Customer confidence and loyalty extends beyond the festive season, meaning that you’ll be able to retain customers gained over the holidays well into 2021 as they’ll want to re-engage with the positive experience your brand gives them.
For more information on how to connect your brand to important issues using a loyalty program, book a conversation with a Loyalty Consultant.
About the author
Mollie Woolnough-Rai
Mollie is a Senior Content Marketing Executive at LoyaltyLion. After graduating from UCL in 2016, she has worked both in-house and at marketing agencies providing expertise in content for both B2B and B2C clients. At LoyaltyLion, Mollie manages our content, making sure our readers get the best quality resources about customer loyalty and retention.
