Tips from the experts: How to focus on what really matters (and not go barking mad)

It’s a dog eat dog world out there and marketers don’t have it easy. You need to be creative and numerical, brand-oriented and digital-savvy, a big picture thinker and detail-obsessed too. What’s more, you have to sort the wheat from the chaff and spot the important trends in a sea of data. And if that wasn’t enough, you have to do it during the pressure-cooker period of peak when everyone and their dog (sorry) is upping the ante to acquire new customers.

It can be hard to strike the right balance and make sure you’re spending enough time on what really matters, especially during peak when it feels like everything is clamouring for your attention. 

Here at more2, our Client Directors have walked in your shoes and earned their battle scars. It might be the strangest peak we’ve ever encountered but if you focus on the essentials and follow their five expert tips, you won’t go wrong. 

1. Plan for all eventualities 

We can’t accurately predict what’s going to happen over the next few months so you need to build a plan that will see you through all the possible ‘what if’ scenarios. Customers may start spending earlier than normal to make sure they get their Christmas gifts delivered on time – or they may hold out for bigger, last-minute discounts. Whatever happens, you need to have creative ready to go for flash sales, your product catalogue needs to feed into Facebook and Google Shopping, and your budgets need to be flexible.  

If a campaign is performing well, don’t shut it off just because that’s what the original plan says to do. Change the plan. 

2. Use your customer economics to drive profitable growth 

Understand how much you can afford to spend to acquire a new customer – and how long you can wait for them to breakeven. These are the two golden figures that should sit at the centre of all your campaigns as they’ll unlock the profitable growth within your commercial model.  

Once you know how much you can spend, ensure you maximise that spend across your online channels to drive as many new customers as you can through the funnel during most competitive time of year.  

3. Don’t wait for Black Friday 

Black Friday isn’t the be-all and end-all of peak – far from it. Don’t centre your campaigns around the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend; instead, focus on recruiting as many new customers as possible as early as possible. Recency is one of the greatest indicators of future buying behaviour so if you recruit a new customer in October, you have more opportunity to market to them with more targeted offers, recommendations and surprises before Black Friday – all of which will make them more likely to become a loyal multi-buyer. 

4. The customer > the campaign 

Create campaigns to fit your customers, not customers to fit your campaigns. When you’re immersed in a brand, it can be tempting to get creative and start dreaming up new campaigns from scratch. Don’t. Look at your product and campaign performance and listen to what your customers’ behaviour is telling you. Everything you do should put your customer at the heart of your decision-making process. This will help you to create relevant, strategic campaigns that drive incremental actions. 

5. Remember your ‘Why’ 

At the end of the day, happy customers are loyal customers and every delighted customer gets you another (for free). The most successful brands are those who surprise and delight their customers at every opportunity – it can be as simple as including a thank you note or small gift from your founder in the box to show your customers how much they matter to you.  

Ultimately, you need to focus on what promise you make and how you deliver it. What does your brand deliver that nobody else does? What makes you different? Align everyone in your organisation on that promise and deliver on it relentlessly.  

When you’re crystal clear on what you stand for, you have no competition. 

We’re all in unchartered waters but if you keep your customers at the heart of everything you do, they’ll reward you time and again with their loyalty. Peak can be challenging but also exciting, it’s a chance to embrace your new customers and delight them at every touchpoint. Keep your core message front of mind, be clear on your customer economics and what they mean for your campaigns – and listen to what your customers are telling you.  

Good luck!