URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/onlinemarketing/emailmarketingcolumnistgailfgoodman/article80754.html

Holidays are a big gift to small businesses who know how to tap into seasonal spending spikes. Despite rising gas, oil and energy prices, consumers still feel generous when it comes to gift-giving and merry-making. The National Retail Federationexpects total holiday retail sales to increase 5 percent over last year for a whopping $435.3 billion in holiday spending.

Will your business get a slice of that record-breaking fruitcake? It will if you understand your customers' buying patterns and offer them perfectly timed solutions to their holiday shopping and entertaining problems.

Key point: Driving holiday sales is about solving customers' challenges first, reaping revenue rewards second. Make sure you're first with the answer when your customers' holiday buying dilemmas arise. It's only a matter of time.

Email marketing provides the tools for you to effectively target customers who are ready, willing and frantic to spend money over the winter holidays. You don't have to stimulate their spending--that's already there. You do have to be first on their list as the answer to their problems. How do you do that when shoppers are bombarded with offers starting in September?

Your holiday email marketing strategy should do three things:

1. Solve a customer's problem
2. Connect to the timing of your customers' decision making
3. Target customers' interests and buying patterns

A holiday email marketing campaign can help you stand out in the crowd. It's all about being on top of your customers' minds and making their lives easier over the holidays.

Solve Their Problem
Anyone who's wandered the aisles of Wal-Mart aimlessly searching for last-minute gifts knows: holiday shopping can be stressful, frustrating and unsatisfying. What do you do when the clock's ticking down and you haven't made a dent in your gift list? How do you get cool gifts on a budget? What do you get for the person who has everything?

Look at your customers' past purchasing behaviors. Then send an email offer that targets those needs and anticipates the challenge (See my article on learning what clicks with your customers). What kinds of categories have they bought from before? Offer three great gift ideas in that category at three different price points.

Corporate B2B gift buyers have their own set of purchasing problems, but on a larger scale. What's the budget? How many gifts do they need to buy? How can they buy corporate gifts that'll stand out among all the other clocks and pen holders? Suggest great gift ideas in price ranges that reflect past purchases. Add value by making the decision fun and easy.

Restaurants can also feast on the holiday spending spree. Use email marketing to alert past patrons to a special menu, catering service, party planning, etc. Relieve frazzled shoppers by suggesting you prepare a holiday meal or dessert for them. Invite them out to relax and toast the season. They may be hungry for your cuisine, but they might not think of you unless your email reminds them you're out there.

Time Your Offer Right
There are planners and procrastinators. Which do you sell to? Both? You need to understand the timing horizon of your customer base so your email promotion arrives when they're ready to buy. Fall isn't too early for corporate gift buyers and event planners to make winter holiday plans. Your first email campaign should arrive in time to help them make their business buying decisions.

Same goes for consumers. Some get their holiday lists bought by Thanksgiving, others wait until the last minute. Be there--on time--for both. Make sure your email subject line tells what you're promoting; for example: "Early Holiday Gift Ideas" or "Not Too Late for Great Gifts." For heel-draggers, offer free shipping and great gift suggestions that make them look like they put thought into their purchases. They'll remember you saved the day, and they'll come back long after the decorations are packed away.

Target Their Needs
Email marketing should be relevant, timely and valuable to the recipient, not just to you. Apply the same principle to targeting and segmenting customers for holiday sales. Know what interests them, and suggest other products in that category within their price range. For example, you might promote the latest gadget (MP3 player or digital camera) for the "electronically savvy" on the high end, or perhaps a DVD movie for people looking for a lower-priced option.

This holiday season, make sure you're solving problems and not just pushing products.

When you offer customers nick-of-time solutions to their holiday shopping and entertaining problems, they'll thank you with their sales and patronage. And the same email marketing strategies discussed above work for other holidays and seasonal events throughout the year as well (Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Graduation Season, Back-to-School, etc.). Leverage the already built-in sales opportunities that already exist for consumers in your area. When you're solving problems and making your customers' lives easier, your email communications are welcomed and valued all year-round. That's the gift that keeps on giving.