Monday, November 26, 2012

Holiday Messages Make an Impact

Christmas is a magical time for children. A recent promotion I received reminded me about the innocent wonder of children as they wait for the big day. The e-mail promotion offered an official, personalized letter from Santa for a mere $19.99. Santa’s letter would also include a list of who was on Santa’s “nice” list, reassuring the youngsters that there would be presents under the tree.  I’m sure that even though the letter was unexpected, the message made an impact.
Thinking about Santa’s letter made me wonder how may B2B customers look forward to your messages during the holidays.  B2B marketers often reduce their efforts during the holidays because they believe executives and purchasing decision makers will be distracted by family celebrations, end-of-the year planning and similar events.  Some recent research by Eloqua casts a new light on that thinking, at least as far as e-mail marketing is concerned.



As you would expect, B2C e-mail marketing jumped during November and December, while the number of messages declined for B2B.  What’s surprising, though, is that the B2B messages are more effective during the holidays. The number of page views for those messages takes a 13% jump in November and December when compared to the rest of the year.  It’s a good reminder that a properly focused message can have a great deal of impact when you’d least expect it.