How marketers can pivot their strategies after EOFY campaigns

June/July is an exciting period for us in the digital space. Bombarded with sales in the lead-up to EOFY, there’s a fine line we have to teeter on to generate the best return, all whilst ensuring consumers aren’t too overwhelmed and exhausted by the campaigns. Day by day, until the calendar hits June 30, the overwhelming pressure of whether “is this offer good enough?” is a feeling only digital marketers know until it’s not. 

Once EOFY is over and we require a breather, digital marketers are faced with the inevitable — a sales hangover. Consumers have emptied their pockets on all the sales and simply cannot face another piece of hard-sell advertising without curling over. Because of this abrupt shift in consumer behaviour, our conversions start to dry up, and our return worsens, putting pressure on us to do a complete 180 of our marketing strategy. 

Soooo. Where does that leave us? And what are some ways we can get through the hangover together? 

Elke Westerveld, founder of Social & Staple. Source: Supplied

Well, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. While it may hurt the results for a little while, it’s all about adapting your strategy to demand, even if it means starting with a fresh perspective. 

First things first, position yourself back to the beginning of the buyer’s journey. Now is the perfect time to test out some new content, build up brand awareness, and tell your story — not only is this beneficial to gain consumers’ trust just in time for the next peak sales season, but it saves you some budget too. Besides, we all know those brands that are always pushing to purchase, and you don’t want to become one of them. 

If you’re not already, test a lead generation campaign to build up your email database. Have a new collection coming soon? Tease it with VIP first access messaging. Have a welcome offer? Preach it. Not only are you getting eyes on your brand, but you’re building up that warm audience ready for peak sales season. Even better yet, it is significantly cheaper to convert someone who has a relationship with your brand. So, while you’re not seeing an immediate ROI from your lead generation campaign, rest assured that the revenue will roll in when they’re ready. 

Ok, now, how about offering a non-monetary incentive to encourage your customers to shop? Free shipping? Free returns? Bonus loyalty points or rewards? They are all easily digestible ways to encourage customers back into spending on full-priced items, all while scoring some type of incentive. We call this stage “welcome back to the real world”.

We’ve given you the tools, and now it’s up to you. We know it’s a hard pill to swallow and understand it is often demotivating when the results drop so suddenly, but trust us when we say it’s all part of the ride. Look at the bright side — there are different things to try (you may even find your new winning formula!) and more time you can spend on other pieces of your marketing puzzle.

Elke Westerveld is the founder of Social & Staple.