If you haven’t already, now is a good time to get your marketing calendar out and look ahead to some key events coming up in 2023. Preparation is key to success in sales and marketing, so a last-minute rushed effort will rarely have as big an impact as a well thought-out and executed plan.
Once you’ve identified the occasions relevant to your business, you can work your way backwards and plan your marketing for the lead-up to each one.
In this blog, we’ll cover some of the standout dates for the coming year and give you some ideas about possible marketing strategies and when to start implementing them.
Your Marketing Plan
The basic principles of marketing apply to every campaign, and you will go through the same processes for each of the following events. Here’s a refresher on what to do to get the best results.
1. Set goals
Before starting your marketing or deciding upon offers, you must be clear on your business goals. Do you want to bring in a cash injection? Move some stock? Attract new customers? Launch a new product line? When you have your end goal in sight, you can work out the best ways to reach it.
2. Choose your channels
There are so many possible marketing channels, including email, SMS texts, social media platforms, paid social media ads and Google ads. Most businesses have the same dilemma: which to choose?
The answer is always to look at your metrics and focus your time and budget on the channels that perform best for your business. That’s the same for any campaign at any time of year. (Top tip: it’s better to do a handful of channels well than to spread yourself too thinly across multiple channels.)
3. Prepare your marketing materials in advance
Sit down with your team and decide how to present your offer. Draft the copy, create the images, set up the emails, and schedule the social media posts… anything you can do in advance will help the campaign run more smoothly and have a more significant impact.
Key 2023 Dates
➢ Easter
Easter weekend 2023 runs from the 7th of April to the 9th of April
Easter has become synonymous with spring sales, and customers have come to expect discounts and special offers at this time of year. Hopefully, you already have your Easter offerings planned out, but if not, make it a priority.
We suggest waiting until Mother’s Day has passed before marketing your Easter offers, then ramping up your efforts as Good Friday approaches.
➢ The King’s Coronation
The coronation is on Saturday, 6th May, with a bank holiday to mark the occasion on Monday, 8th May
This is an exciting one-off opportunity to celebrate an event the whole world will be watching. You might plan to sell a line of products related to the coronation, like memorabilia or merchandise. If you run a hospitality venue, you may intend to show the coronation on screens. If the coronation isn’t relevant to your business, you can still create a special offer or discount to mark the occasion.
There are four weeks between Easter weekend and the coronation on 6th May, so we’d advise starting your campaign as soon as Easter has passed.
➢ Bank Holidays
Early May (1st May), Spring Bank Holiday (29th May), Summer Bank Holiday (28th Aug [7th Aug in Scotland])
The standard UK bank holidays are always worth marking in your business. People love having an extra day off work and are likely to go out shopping, dining, drinking, or even for a weekend away. Start putting offers out a couple of weeks in advance. (Please note: bank holiday dates can vary slightly depending on which UK country you’re in, so double-check the dates for your region.)
➢ Father’s Day
18th June
Father’s Day will be more relevant for some businesses than others, but if you can craft an offer that fits this occasion, start marketing it at least two weeks in advance. Retargeting can be very effective around gift-giving events, so make sure you have your systems set up in advance.
➢ Black Friday and Christmas
As we near the end of the year, we have the commercial giants… Black Friday and Christmas. Although the marketing basics still apply here, these two events need a campaign strategy all of their own for maximum results. We’ll cover our tips and advice for them in another blog post.
➢ Awareness Days and Other Events
As well as the big nationwide occasions, remember to check out the smaller events and awareness days that may be relevant to your business. For example, you may decide to create offers for Hallowe’en (31st October), Bonfire Night (5th November), London Fashion Week (June and then again in September), World Gin Day (10th June), Movember (November) or even National Tea Day (21st April)! If you need help planning and executing your 2023 digital marketing strategy, get in touch – we’re happy to help.
