Your Christmas buyer is not your usual buyer
Christmas is one of the busiest times of year for brands, and for their buyers. No matter how prepped you think you are with the Christmas shopping, the run up to Christmas is always busy, stressful and full of competing demands – all shouting for your time and attention.
And whilst it might feel a long way off, the brands that win at Christmas are the ones that get themselves into this buyer mindset way in advance. Whilst it is hard to think of the stress that the run up to Christmas brings whilst lounging on a sun bed or cooking up a storm on the BBQ, winning brands understand that the prep for a successful Christmas starts early. But more than that, they recognise that they are selling to a real person with stresses and emotions, not just a “target consumer”, and they deliver creative and content that meets their buyers where they are.
In other words…
Your Christmas buyer is not your usual buyer.
This might seem obvious, but so many brands forget that the people they need to speak to at Christmas are not the same people they speak to the rest of the year.
These are not the same people who engage with and buy from your brand at other times – they are, quite often, entirely new to you and your world – and they aren’t really interested in you, they’re interested in whether the people they love are interested in you. (follow me?!)
So think “buyer” for Christmas by remembering…
- Your Christmas buyer is not your customer
Buyer: “what will THEY want”
Customer: “what do I want”
Your buyer is thinking about someone else at every interaction with your brand. Will “they” like this. Will it be enough? Too much? Is it the right one?
It’s a totally different mindset to speaking to your day-to-day customers and end consumer – they know what THEY want and make purchase decisions in accordance with this.
Resonate with buyers by showing how you understand it’s not them that matters, it’s the recipient. John Lewis nailed this with their Christmas advert last year – seamlessly transporting the buyer into her sister’s mindset to understand what gift would work for her:
And Boots got the memo in 2019 with a campaign that bucketed audiences and their wants and spoke directly to buyers on the hunt for that perfect gift:
2. Your buyer is stressed and juggling lots
Buyer: “still got 5 people to buy for, where do I park, what time do the shops shut, I’m starving”
Customer: “this is what I want/need”
Your buyer has so much else going on – it’s not an optimal time to be shopping, it’s always high stress with many competing demands on attention.
And it’s not just “buying a present”. There’s so much more to it.
- What’s the returns policy if they don’t like it?
- What will [brother / sister / mum] get them – will it be enough? Too much?
- I’ve got a lot to buy and all at once – can I stretch to this?
In contrast, your customer knows if they want it. They know their budget. It’s much easier to make decisions and commit.
So help your buyers commit to purchase with failsafe returns and content that speaks to them on their terms.
Very’s campaign combined a live countdown that reminded buyers how long left to go until the big day with real-time data that showed how many times the displayed product had been purchased. This worked because it tapped into the idea of “social proofing” – where customers are more likely to buy a product if it has proven popular with other people as it builds confidence that “if other people are choosing it, then it’ll likely be a well-received gift”.
The chosen CTA, ‘shop now pay later’, also functions as a promotion of one of Very’s key features. Buyers struggling with the overwhelming cost of Christmas are offered a solution, without having to sacrifice brand quality. In other words, a clever campaign that nails that buyer mindset.
3. Buyers can treat themselves too
Buyer: Exploratory: ‘This is a new brand that I don’t normally engage with’
Customer: Trusted: ‘These are the brands I know and love’
This is a great opportunity to get new faces into your brand. Not every Christmas buyer will be a potential new audience (thinking dad’s buying make up here) but it is a great time of year to reach new audiences and show off your range to them too. And remember – many Christmas buyers treat themselves too as a “well done on getting it done” treat, so don’t be afraid to speak to them and offer up little moments of serenity in the buying journey at this frenetic time.
Benefit always do this well – with new products and names designed specifically to encourage tired buyers to indulge and a little something for themselves:
In short, to win at Christmas be prepared, and remember – your Christmas buyer is not your usual buyer. Think creatively to deliver content that speaks to them as real people with their own needs, wants and motivators and not just your end consumer who has no part in the buying process at Christmas.
