Halloween is a time for scary costumes, silly jokes, and a lot of festive activity. For some, the entire month of October can be seen as one big celebration. Here in Australia, we may not be as crazy about Halloween as our American friends, but it’s still a great opportunity to stand out and promote while having some spooky fun.
Those who love Halloween are more than ready to buy a few extra items in October. Both costumed and casual, the lead-up to Halloween is an undeniable commercial powerhouse. Your spooky friends are putting together costumes, planning for parties, stocking up on candy, and buying spooky little gifts for friends. The only question is: how do you get in on this shopping madness?
Make it Spooky
First and foremost, the best way to get Halloween sales is to sell something spooky. No matter what your normal business is, if you join in the costumed pretend-scary festivities, you will be included in the commercial side of the celebrations as well.
During this time of year, some people are enthusiastic about almost anything that fits the theme. Shaped like a ghost, wrapped like a mummy, or simply had googly eyes glued onto it? Perfect. If it glows in the dark, speaks spooky phrases, or somehow helps to frighten children as the approach for candy, all the better.
Of course, you don’t have to sell food, toys, costumes, or even retail goods to get your business in on the month-long Halloween party. Should you happen to run a services industry, consider doing a few special days where employees work in (practical safe for work) costumes.
This will delight your customers and entice them to spend more time with you on the simple fact that you’re celebrating with them. Purely online businesses, on the other hand, have it even easier. All you need to do is spruce up your website into a spooky Halloween theme.
Offer Dastardly Discounts
Now that you’ve got their attention with costumes, decorations, it’s time to break out the standard promotional tricks.
Discounts are incredibly powerful during October because everyone is trying to make their budget stretch to cover half a month of partying. Your best bet is to offer convenient bundle deals on groups of things you know your customers will enjoy.
Classic bundles would include things like a pumpkin carving kit and a six-pack of electric candles. You should get creative based on what your business has to offer. Packaged items is particularly appealing this time of year.
Fun for the Whole Family
Halloween may be a favourite of the teenagers, but in reality, it’s a family holiday. Parents take their kids trick or treating, older siblings accompany their younger siblings before running off into the night, and families often attend Halloween parties together.
If you really want to capture this spirit, make sure your deals are that special balance of family-friendly and not-quite-scary. In everything from content to decor, choose items and images that walk the line between spine-tinglingly spooky and OK for younger children.
If you’re not certain, stick with the general rule that ghosts are better than zombies. Ideally, try to offer something that either focuses on or supports some kind of family activity. This can be anything from a pack of kid-safe horror movies to a set of classic Halloween monster paper plates.
Prominent Punctual Promotions
With everything else prepared, it’s time to get your promotions out there. People can’t join you in your Halloween festivities unless they know where you are and that you’ll be celebrating.
Use every possible communication channel to get the word out about your special Halloween promotions and your desire to see as many customers arrive to participate as possible.
Make silly ghost posts on social media, send out invitation emails, post flyers around the neighbourhood if that works for your town.
Whatever you do, make sure to let people know early and often that you’re ready to celebrate Halloween with them.
Host a Special Event
Finally, don’t forget that Halloween is all about the parties. For people who enjoy attending as many Halloween parties as possible, they will be delighted to see you throw a spooky bash of your own.
Crafting your marketing strategy is all about planning ahead. Holidays are a great opportunity to take advantage of the excitement that holidays already inspire in your customers. For more marketing insights, contact us today!
