The most crucial season of the year for sales is upon us. 

The pandemic has certainly hit most industries hard. We’ve seen many SME’s go into permanent lockdown this pandemic.

And while it’s been an unfortunate year for retail with consumers not stepping out and tightening their purse strings in light of budget constraints, salary cuts and frugal need-based spending; that’s about to change.

Studies reflect consumer sentiments are shifting with the lockdown opening up. The good news is – Indians are projected to spend an average of INR 15,000 during the festive season this year, as per ET Brand Equity.

It’s being called the season of ‘Revenge-Buying’ for Indians. Far too long have consumers curtailed their spends during the pandemic and they’re about to loosen their purse strings.

As per Financial Express – 

The High priority categories will be – apparels, mobile phones, home furniture, jewellery, consumer electronics and two-wheelers.

There is a medium consumer buying propensity for cars, kitchen appliances and unfortunately travel and home renovation will be low on priority.

With fewer people venturing out, brands will be extremely aggressive in competing for consumer attention in the online space.

In order to make the most of this festive season, here are the best marketing strategies for Diwali in 2020 –

 

1. Mobile first Marketing :

According to a study, 53% of the respondents completed their first online purchase in the past 6 months, of which 40% hail from tier-2 and tier-3 cities. And the most popular medium for making purchases online is – you guessed it – the smartphone. Brands need to optimise mobile based creatives for advertising and focus on a mobile-friendly consumer journey for shopping. 

 

2. Optimised Landing Pages :

Re-design your landing pages for making them more consumer friendly – highlighting Diwali offers and discounts. Use keywords like ‘Best Diwali Deals’,‘Best Diwali offers’, ‘Best Diwali discounts’ to come up higher on search rankings. Make sure the shopping experience is a smooth cruise from add to cart to check out. Work with a specialised digital marketing agency or expert to make sure you get this right. 

 

 

3. Email Marketing :

Use words that highlight a discount in the subject itself; like – offer, discount,deal,save,free, etc. Email marketing is a great way to personally connect with consumers and make them aware of promotions you are running. Consumers from your database who have already made purchases from you are likely to make them again, when they see a promotion. Take advantage of that and push out great deals.

 

 

4. Content Marketing :

Invest in creating content with a content marketing agency that creatively incorporates your brand in a piece of emotional content that reflects the present consumer sentiment. Create content that touches the heart and cleverly yet subtly integrates your brand into the story. Digital videos are the most promising with blogs being another crucial element you cannot ignore this season.

 

5. Influencer Marketing :

We’ve said it before and we’re saying it again. Influencer Marketing is THE strategy you need for 2020. It will help you increase not just visibility, engagement but also conversions. Use your influencers wisely to get more traffic on your social pages – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and even more website traffic. Work with a creative marketing agency to target the right influencer mix that will be optimal for your brand. Not all influencers are created equal, you need insights to know which one’s will really work for you. Remember, a high number of followers doesn’t translate into high conversions or visibility.

 

 

6. Re-targetting :

Re-target consumers with paid ads on social and google who have already interacted with your brand on social media, visited your website and  abandoned carts. Push out promotional coupons to this audience, they’re more likely to convert to sales. Drive performance marketing efforts to retargeting audiences from the last 3 months.

 

 

7. Social Media Marketing :

SMM is un-arguably the most important tool at your disposal for digital marketing. If you have a loyal set of followers, your promotions during the Diwali season are sure to be a hit. Engage with them on social pages, focus on building content with specific discounts and codes just for them and make use of shoppable features integrated in the apps to encourage impulse buying and faster conversions.

It’s wise to have a  good digital marketing agency on your retainer for the next quarter to make sure you get more sales online this Diwali. Digital marketing strategies for 2020 with a sharp focus on consumer insights, eye-catching creatives will grab attention and help you win over the competition. 

Keep in mind, due to the fall in demand this year, competition online is expected to be far more aggressive in 2020. 

Hence your digital marketing agency needs to bring their A game to the table to really light up your sales calendar this year.

Work on owning consumer mindshare with social media and digital advertising and have a happy flourishing Diwali. Good luck, make it POP!