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The holiday period can be stressful, especially for consumers faced with a long list of gift-buying decisions. A holiday gift guide will allow a company to display a curated list of their products, which can be of value to new and existing customers. Knowing how to make a gift guide is only the beginning though, it also takes careful consideration with creating it, promoting it, and finally launching it into the marketplace.
Let’s dive into how a holiday gift buying guide can ultimately help boost holiday sales, build brand awareness, drive customer loyalty, and create low friction shopping experiences.
So, what is a holiday gift guide? Think of it as a thoughtfully assembled group of items designed to give holiday gift-giving ideas for your new or existing customers. It may also be a powerful marketing tool for a small business, since it puts your product selections front and center. You can easily distribute a guide, including on your website, social media, and as part of a newsletter or email campaign.
Holiday gift guide examples showcase how versatile this marketing tactic can be for a small business. For instance, the holiday gift guide can feature lists of gifts under $25, top-selling stocking stuffers, local favorites ready for quick delivery, gifts for relaxation and wellness, and so many more. The variety of buying guides is almost unlimited and you can tailor it to fit your small business brand.
A holiday gift guide offers several benefits for customers, including inspiration and convenience. However, it can be equally advantageous for the business. Any time you can create a low friction browsing or shopping experience, it can have a meaningful impact on your business in a variety of ways.
Creating a holiday gift guide can produce a range of benefits for a business, but there are potential challenges it can present. If a business doesn’t plan carefully, there could be risks of investing too much time and energy, unbalanced inventory, and even lost sales.
A holiday gift guide can be as simple or complex as you have the time for. Want to learn how to make a gift guide? Follow our simple step-by-step process.
Define your ideal customers’ preferences, especially for holiday shopping. Depending on what your business sells, this could be lovers of sustainability, parents on a budget, outdoorsy types, or luxury shoppers.
You can gather customer insights through social media account and website analytics, studying your competitors, asking customers directly what they want, and analyzing who is already purchasing from you.
Organize your products into holiday gift guide categories. These could be based on different themes (such as festive gift ideas), price ranges, or recipients. The more organized a gift guide is, the easier it will be for customers to choose what they want and make a purchase.
Teams can use existing sales data to decide which products to feature. This could be a mix of bestsellers, new arrivals, and unique and memorable items from each product category. To aid this process, they should put themselves in the customers’ shoes – what would they want to see this time of year?
Make the holiday gift guide ideas beautiful and uniquely branded. It should be enjoyable for potential customers to browse. You could hire a graphic designer to create an interactive guide with user experience in mind, or leverage drag-and-drop design tools like Canva or Wix to create attractive email campaigns, social media imagery, and landing pages in house.
The design and layout should be mobile-friendly so customers can shop from anywhere. Include room for product descriptions and call-to-action buttons, to make it even easier for shoppers as they navigate.
Engaging product descriptions and high-quality images may help boost holiday shopping sales through the gift guide. The descriptions can be brief, but need to be specific. Including critical details can help build trust with your brand, such as including fit, materials, colors, if it’s locally-sourced, and other key points.
Appealing imagery also helps customers make quick decisions on products, reassures them the product is high-quality, and clearly communicates brand identity. Plus, it helps them envision how the recipient will use or enjoy the gift.
If a beautiful gift guide has captured your customer’s imagination, they now need to be directed to where they can buy their gift (or gifts) with ease. Use clear CTAs for each product so customers know exactly how to make a gift guide purchase, such as “shop now,” or “add to cart.” You can also add urgent language, such as “limited stock,” or “order now for guaranteed holiday delivery.”
It is Important that your online and in-person checkout experiences are low friction during the high-demand holiday period. Slow loading times and unclear steps can lead to cart abandonment and lower conversion rates.
No matter how creative and effective it is, you’ll need to make plans to promote your holiday gift guide.
After learning how to make a gift guide and how to promote it, the next step is knowing when to advertise and launch it. Consider starting promotions well before the holiday season officially begins.
Once you lock in the most effective holiday promotion ideas and launch the guide, you can start incorporating feedback right away to further maximize the guide’s potential.
A gift guide should be part of your marketing strategy. Not only does knowing how to make a gift guide give you a chance to improve customer loyalty, it may also be a good time for boosting holiday sales. Putting together a curated list of holiday gifts for your customers, such as a budget-friendly holiday gift guide or unique holiday gift ideas, makes it convenient for them and easy to convert to sales for you.
Businesses can use PayPal’s reporting tools to monitor overall sales activity and transaction trends during the holiday season. PayPal Business accounts include streamlined sales, disputes, refund, and transaction reports, which can all be tailored to a company’s specific needs, including a better understanding of the performance of each of your holiday gift categories.
Need help figuring out what else you should do to prepare for the holiday season? Check out our holiday sales checklist.