The MadAveGroup Blog

Over the years, Santa has set a pretty high standard. Consider a few of the things the big guy does and you’ll discover some takeaways that you can apply to your company.

1) Communicate the way your customers prefer - Reading letters hand-written in crayon may not appeal to many people over age 9, but Santa does it because he knows it’s important to his customers. How can you make it easier and more enjoyable for potential buyers to reach you?

• Add a live chat feature to your website?
• Increase call center staff to assist customers quicker or permit deeper conversations?
• Provide callers in queue with a call-back option?
• Make texting available to your customers?

2) Be predictably reliable - Santa delivers right on time. In fact, that’s what blows everyone’s mind about the guy. Despite an ever-growing customer base and the skyrocketing cost of reindeer chow, he comes through like clockwork every December 25th. Could you wow your clients by shortening turnaround times?

• Which production and delivery-related processes can you re-evaluate and tighten up?
• Would new partnerships allow you to provide quicker or more consistent delivery?

3) Embrace your weirdness - A red suit? That floppy lid? The belt on steroids? I mean, Santa wears some crazy threads, no doubt, but he makes ‘em work. The look is so his that no one can even think about swiping it. Have faith in what makes you unique, whether it’s your culture, your marketing philosophies or your branding. When those ideas are genuine and deeply held, they can distinguish you in the marketplace and as an employer.

4) Explore new distribution channels - Santa’s got the chimney thing cornered, but you know that when he first started sliding into fireplaces his friends were like, “You get into houses how?” Don’t be afraid to look into new or unconventional ways you can get your product to market.

• Can you partner with a complementary company, just as Wendy’s teamed with DoorDash and Uber Eats to get their food into more mouths?
• Are there less obvious connections you can make, such as when an animal rescue shelter placed their doggies in the lobby of an Asheville, North Carolina hotel? (Read the story.)

5) Do one thing and kill it - Nobody’s better at the gift game than Santa. The dude’s in a league of his own. Yet, he hasn’t over-extended his brand to jump on that Easter action or move into the birthday market. Yes, he works just one slice of the present pie, but he owns that slice.

• Are you providing so many services that you haven’t been able to master any of them? If so, consider how that may affect your brand and your ability to justifiably charge the higher price of an expert.
• How might you customize your product in a way that can be legally protected and allow you to claim its unique property as exclusive?

Marketing is no laughing matter - except when it involves pitting pairs of marketers head-to-head in a joke-off of semi-epic proportions. Happy holidays from all of us MadAveGroup. 
 

The 2011 holiday shopping season is over and, with overall sales projected to exceed figures from the last several years, economists and retailers are ready to call it a success.

But the Christmas season is just a six-week segment of a 52-week year, and retailers can’t rely solely on traffic-driving deals and deep discounts to keep their balance sheets in the black.

So, how can you encourage sales and engagement throughout the rest of the year? One way is to create memorable customer experiences.

From electronic endeavors such as email, social media and your website, to in-store sensory efforts using audio, video and even aroma, your marketing should create a customer experience that drives your customers to not only think of you first when they need to make a purchase, but to spend more (increase customer share) when they’re in your store – whether it’s virtual or brick and mortar.