In 2023, 11% of Australians set the New Years’ resolution to “renovate my house” – this is a huge number of potential clients who are actively searching for a builder over the holiday period and you need to make sure you’re top of mind when they are!
It’s been a big year, and with the end in sight we love to see all our builders taking a well-deserved break, but that doesn’t mean your marketing should! You’ve been working hard throughout the year to build an effective and consistent marketing strategy and pausing that momentum now could see all that progress undone.
If anything, the holiday season is the perfect time to ramp up your marketing efforts – with people spending more time than usual at home, they’ll be assessing what’s working and what isn’t functioning with their living spaces. As your potential clients gain inspiration on social media and spend the summer mapping out their building plans for 2024, you want to remain front and centre so when the time comes to choose a builder – it’s a no brainier.
Remember, marketing is all about the long game and an extended break during the holidays could be the difference between winning a client and not even generating an enquiry. Still not convinced? Continue reading to discover why marketing shouldn’t take a holiday break.
Your audience is active
With people on leave and spending more time at home, the idea of renovating or building becomes front of mind, particularly after Christmas. Many people take this time to consider their building plans for the coming year – whether it’s a young couple mapping out a brand new custom home or a family reflecting on the holidays and wondering how they can improve the functionality of their living spaces for Christmas lunch in 2024.
With another busy year over, people have more free time and headspace during the holidays. By staying active throughout this period, you can remind people that you’re ready to start building their dream home whenever they are. Being a constant presence allows you to target the right audience and build affinity with A grade clients, rather than having to work with just anyone who reaches out.
You can target all those New Years’ resolutions
11% of Aussies New Years’ resolution is to renovate their house – how many people is that… the total population is 26 million, so that’s 2.8 million people actively search for a builder in that very first week of the year! Why not get ahead of the competition and be ready when your clients do start searching?
When your clients hit Instagram looking for inspiration, make sure you’re the first thing they see. By being a constant companion on Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms, you can play a key role in your clients’ decision making journeys.
Keep generating leads to avoid the January slump
No one wants to return to work in January with nothing in the pipeline. By keeping your marketing running throughout the holidays, potential clients will still be engaging and enquiring while you’re kicking back. When you return to work in the new year refreshed and ready to go, you’ll have a list of qualified leads ready to be followed up!
It’s important to manage expectations here – clients who do reach out over the holiday period may expect a reply. If your office is closed during this time and you won’t be manning the enquiry email, be sure to have an automated email set up with information about your specific closure dates and when clients can expect to hear back in 2024.
Many businesses scale back during the holidays, which means less competition
One advantage of marketing during the holiday season is the reduced competition. With many businesses opting to scale back their marketing efforts, there is less clutter online – particularly on social media. This is a huge opportunity for your brand to capture the attention of your target audience.
Reduced competition also makes for a better return on investment and increased visibility for your business at a time when many Aussies are already active online.
Final thoughts: Use the summer break to your advantage
With your marketing continuing as normal in the background, use the summer break to reflect on the year that was and think about how you’d like to position yourself in 2024. Consider new channels you might like to invest in and updates you could make to existing marketing efforts. This could be anything from updating your website or refreshing your opt-in document to revising your strategy and branding to align with a new business direction.
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Continuing your marketing during the holiday season shouldn’t be stressful or time consuming – our team can keep your marketing ticking over so your clients are engaged and inspired while you take some time to rest and gear up for another big year. Get in touch with Sea Salt Marketing now to ensure your marketing runs seamlessly over the holiday season.
Please note, the Sea Salt office will be closed from 4pm, 22 December 2023 and will reopen at 9am, 8 January 2024 with skeleton staff managing our social media campaigns. Reach out to our team before 15 December with any new project ideas or campaign updates and we’ll ensure they’re up and running before the holidays.
