Unsung Heroes During the Holiday Season
December 2, 2024
Holiday rush adds stress to everyone, and most likely, no one thinks about home equipment failing or getting overly stressed or sick. Many HVAC companies report a 20-30% increase in calls for emergency services during the winter holidays. This is when you become the hero.
We take for granted conveniences such as furnaces, smoke detectors, plumbing, or electricity. In addition, people preparing for the holiday forget, or try to push through, their health issues and may end up feeling less than festive.
If your company offers home services, you can be the hero and have an opportunity to remind homeowners about home maintenance checks before hosting holiday guests. Wellness businesses should encourage people to take time for personal maintenance. Feeling rundown or failing home equipment are culprits of darkening holiday cheer.
Promoting less stress will also give your business an end-of-the-year push. You might try some of these marketing ideas:
- Loyalty Programs: If you don’t have one, the holidays are a great time to start one. Referral rewards, punch cards for the number of visits, package deals, and early bird offers to your best customers can bring holiday cheer.
- Limited Time Offers (LTO): for the holiday, rename services you already provide to sound festive. Urgency matters, so create short deadlines for each LTO.
- Promotions and Discounts: Gift cards, bundle pricing, BOGOs, and early-bird discounts are attention grabbers for every consumer. Combine popular or important services to attract crossover sales. For example, a spa might offer a “Holiday Relaxation Package,” a cleaning service could promote a “Pre-Holiday Deep Clean,” or an HVAC business could promote a “Santa Checks His List Twice, So Should You.”
- Gift Cards: Offer gift cards/certificates as an easy holiday gift solution for clients to purchase for friends and family. Promote them with special bonuses (e.g., “Buy a $50 gift card, get $10 off your next service”).
- Festive Touch to Your Service: Give clients a small, branded holiday treat with their service, such as chocolates, holiday greeting card, or discount for future use.
- Website: A very powerful weapon in your marketing arsenal and should have a facelift during the holidays. Customize your homepage to showcase your holiday deals, referral programs, or gift with purchase and make the path to buying even easier (contact us page, shop page, schedule page).
- Digital Marketing: From simple or complex, this must be a part of your holiday promotions. Boosting a post on Facebook or managing multiple campaigns in Google AdWords could be the push your holiday promotion needs.
- Social Media: Share tips related to your services (e.g., “5 Ways to Keep Your Home Clean During Holiday Parties” or “Quick Tips for Holiday Stress Relief” if you’re in wellness, “Holiday Maintenance Checklist” if you’re in home services).
- Videos: Americans love their reels and videos – about 73% of the population watches video. Demonstrate what problems to look for with a furnace or water heater, give a tour of your spa, showcase holiday nail designs, or offer specials on additional products such as furnace filters or hair supplies.
- Holiday Hashtags: Grow your reach by creating special hashtags. Post stories or reels showing the behind-the-scenes of your holiday preparation, videos that laugh at holiday stress, or seasonal offers to connect with followers.
- Holiday Emails and Texts: Create a holiday email campaign with gift ideas, recipes, limited-time offers, or a thank-you message to loyal clients. Include festive graphics, tips, or even a freebie as a small “holiday gift.”
- Holiday Greetings: Send out personalized holiday cards to your most loyal customers and emails to thank your clients for their business. Small gestures go a long way in building strong client relationships and keeping your business top of mind.