Beat the Post-Holiday Sales Slump with These 3 Tactics

For many businesses, January is the worst month of the year, particularly if you are in a B2C enterprise. It’s no mystery why – customers have just shelled out a lot of cash for Christmas, and they’re naturally thinking about taxes, feeling the pressure of debt, and determined that this year, they’ll cut out the nonessentials and get ahead. It’s a challenging environment, but that’s why marketing is more important than ever in Q1. The target may be a bit trickier to hit this time of year, but there is still room to succeed if you employ one or more of these 3 tried and true tactics for this season:

Aspirational Messaging Based on the Data

Too often we can be pushy in our messaging, rather than stepping back, taking a look at where our customers are at, and supporting their needs. In the season of New Year’s resolutions, many people are actively seeking self-improvement, feeling optimistic, and trying to turn a new leaf. Around 1/3 of Americans are planning on making a New Year’s resolution in 2024, and the most commonly reported goals are saving more money, being happy, exercising more/improving physical health, and improving mental health. You can harness these desires and use them to frame your message to the customer.

Be sure not to be lazy or cliché about your messaging, however. “New year, new you,” for example, has proven to be among the worst-performing phrases in digital marketing over the last 7 years. It misses the mark because A) Everyone has heard that phrase a thousand times, and B) It does not really see the customer for who they are and what they are trying to become. It just sort of blithely and generically assumes that you need to be something different…

Stocks are wrapping up a two-month rally, with the Dow near record highs, and the S&P 500 locking in a 24% gain on the year. Market Watch warns, however, that contraindications are strong, and potentially poor earnings announcements on already overbought stocks could cause the market to swing the other way. In the crypto market, BTC seems to be stabilizing, for the moment, around $45,000, after a rocketing uptick since mid-October, and ETH, likewise, is hovering around $2,200…

In 2019, consumer retail returns tallied up to $309 billion (or 8.1% of total consumer retail spending), a figure that includes returns for online purchases. By 2022, consumer retail returns had doubled as a percentage of spending to 16.5% and, according to a revealing report by the Wall Street Journal, that number accounted for $817 billion. In times past, retailers have considered a generous return policy an incentive for shoppers to buy more impulsively and to generate goodwill with the brand, but now, as consumer behavior has shifted so drastically, businesses have begun rethinking their approach…

The Barna Group, a Christian research organization dedicated to finding and distributing accurate statistics about the current state of faith, worldview, and culture in the United States and abroad, released its 2023 year in review. Here are some of the highlights…

Your weekly chance to test your Bible knowledge! The answer to today’s question may surprise you:

Q: What is the traditional name for the Book of Revelation?

Answer at the bottom

TIPS & TRICKS

New Year’s Resolutions for Kingdom Leaders

Sometimes it really is simple.

Jesus told his listeners to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Admittedly, He wasn’t speaking at a marketing conference, an industry convention, or delivering a keynote. He was giving the Sermon on the Mount, and His words apply to everyone who would hope to follow Jesus. Yet even though His words are not explicitly about business, they do inform us as to how we should run our companies, lead our employees, and what kind of messages we ought to put out into the world.

This is not to over-spiritualize or pontificate. The New Testament doesn’t say whether you should buy stocks or bonds, and Job doesn’t touch on which product line you should emphasize in Q1. What these sacred scriptures do say, however, is what God’s work in the world is, and how we can partner with Him in accomplishing that work.

So don’t let the oft-repeated words like “kingdom” and “righteousness” become empty buzzwords. God’s kingdom is where His laws are observed and in effect, where His resources are readily accessible, and where the people reflect His goodness, mercy, and strength. Righteousness is the right ordering of all things – or, as St. Augustine said, “To love things… in the right order.”…

• The Biden Administration has taken steps to remove funding from pro-life crisis pregnancy centers.

• Facebook has banned the official Libs of TikTok page in what some are calling pre-election censorship.

• The International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC) has cut ties with founder Mike Bickle after he confirmed in part and denied in part a slew of grooming and sexual abuse allegations.

• California retailers are now required by law to present toys in a gender neutral aisle.

• Barclay's downgrades Apple, resulting in a 3% stock price tumble.