Your Holiday Sales Push Will Have An Equal And Opposite Reaction

A successful holiday sales season can damage your brand for Q1 2011. At least, that’s what AdAge.com columnist Jonathan Salem Baskin says in his article, ‘Holiday Season Price-Cutting and Hard Sell Can Damage a Brand.’

The headline alone left me skeptical. But Baskin’s article makes some good points. Not only can deep discounts disappoint your loyal customers (read: your full-price paying customers) but switching from a brand engagement strategy to a hard sell strategy can sacrifice the brand values you’ve worked so hard to communicate. You know, like how your brand cares more about people than about money?

Most businesses don’t have a choice but to put on the sales push when it comes to the holiday season. It’s their last hoorah.

So, come 2012, what can your business do to salvage its brand? Baskin suggests the following:

1. Address the brand shortcomings that were revealed in your “mad dash” to make holiday sales. Maybe what you thought was your most effective messaging wasn’t really that effective, Maybe some of your brand’s secondary messages were the most powerful at driving sales. Whatever you learn about your brand during the “old year,” use it to redirect your marketing processes in the new year.
2. Adjust your prices. Consumers know what your products and services are really worth now. You either need to add value to justify a return to full price, or keep the prices low and find another way to cut costs.
3. Find a balance between the brand experiences that drove consumer loyalty all year and the experiences – good or bad – that holiday consumers will associate with your brand. Find a way to turn one-time shoppers into enthusiasts…without ignoring your existing enthusiasts. Try to find a market position that will make your next transition from business-as-usual to holiday-hard-sell a little more seamless.

It’s hard to think that a successful holiday sales season will result in a damaged brand. But, so it goes, every action has an equal and opposite reaction.