It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Well, unless if you let opportunities pass your company by. And with the amount of competition out there in whatever industry you’re in, every small mistake adds up since margins are so thin. Marketing mistakes during the holiday season, depending on your industry, can hurt exponentially more. So be careful.

Your On Hold message may be the first time someone receives any form of communication from your business. Is it mentioning holiday offers or making potential customers aware of Christmas or New Year promos? Because it definitely should. Losing business because of a lack of information when you have an easy outlet is a big oversight. So check your on hold message for the right message and holiday cheer.

Speaking of that phone message, how’s the holiday greeting? If it’s generic and bland and impersonal, it probably does more harm than good! People can see through fake messages and half-hearted attempts so make sure you’re sparkling and glowing with holiday flavour if you’re going that route at all.

All this means you have to have a marketing scheme and an organised plan months in advance. Your organisation must be reflected in your calls and greetings. So be prepared and be ready early with research, promotions and advertisements. Doing so will mean your on hold messages will be apt and on target. If you don’t have a well-thought out plan, after all, then you won’t have anything to change in your message. And if your competitor does offer something better, then you’re fighting an uphill battle.

Finally, timing is everything. That means a Christmas message on January 3rd makes your business sound unprofessional. And a holiday greeting that’s too early is out of place. Get your timing down and you’ll have a much more efficient marketing campaign.

May the end of the year bring great dividends and they will… provided you’re smart about it!