The festive season is synonymous with joy, celebrations, and, of course, shopping. It’s a time when consumers, driven by sentiment and celebration, open their hearts to make special purchases. These intangible drivers make them behave a certain way. Effective festival marketing has a lot to do with nudging users in your direction to take a desired action.
The real challenge isn’t to sell but to create an unforgettable user experience so they keep returning for more. Customer retention metrics become the endgame. If they buy from you on one occasion and you play your cards right, they will likely buy from you on the next occasion and the ones after that. For brands, the goal is to become the first-stop shop during festivities.
At Candere By Kalyan Jewellers, we don’t merely view the festive season as a window for increased sales but as a crucial juncture to deepen our connection with our customers. Having steered the marketing initiatives at Candere by Kalyan Jewellers for years, I’ve gained a deep understanding of the strategies instrumental in thriving in the competitive landscape during these festive seasons.
Join me as I share the nuances and craft that power successful festive marketing in the D2C space.
Master the Art of Festive Marketing
Our foundational strategy at Candere by Kalyan Jewellers is the integrated use of various channels— from search-oriented platforms like Google to discovery platforms like Meta (Facebook). These channels work in harmony to acquire new customers and retain existing ones.
Next, we asked ourselves a few basic but critical questions:
What?
Marketing automation is at the heart of what powers this integration. Our top-performing channels, like email, SMS, and WhatsApp, have successfully driven our results, particularly in customer retention.
How?
Some of the notable engagement campaigns that have hit the mark for us are:
- Campaign: Discount announcements | What it does: Personalized product integration + offers
- Campaign: Early bird offers | What it does: (Create urgency with time-bound offers)
- Campaign: Referral codes | What it does: (Offer wallet credit)
In fact, our marketing automation initiatives have consistently driven 2X return on investment compared to traditional paid channels.
When?
Yet, it’s crucial to understand that marketing automation is not just about sending messages; it’s about sending them to the right people in the right place at the right time—the best times to engage our users have been 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. IST.
This crafts unforgettable customer journeys that resonate on an emotional level. Whether it’s a well-timed SMS or a personalized email, each touchpoint serves as a catalyst for forging lasting relationships with your users.
Furthermore, if you are a legacy brand like us, you must understand that the future is leaning towards an omnichannel approach, where both online and offline experiences are integrated. The blend of online reach with offline look-and-feel experiences takes the potential of the D2C shopping experience to stratospheric heights. And that is why Candere by Kalyan Jewellers is taking this omnichannel approach to the next level by launching 30 experience stores by the end of the year.
These experience stores are not just retail outlets but immersive spaces designed to bring the festive spirit to life. By doing so, we aim to create a seamless and emotionally engaging customer journey from online to an unforgettable in-store experience—perfectly timed for the festive season.
Leverage Artificial Intelligence
AI’s role in understanding customer behavior is transformative. By analyzing real-time data, AI algorithms can identify patterns in buying behavior, such as preferences for certain types of jewelry or auspicious days for making a purchase. This level of insight allows brands to tailor marketing campaigns with unprecedented precision.
The power of AI extends beyond just data analysis; it’s a tool that enhances the customer experience through personalized recommendations. For example, when customers visit our website, AI maps their interests based on their browsing history and suggests products most likely to resonate with them. This isn’t just a win for the customer; it’s a win for us as well.
As we move further into the digital age, AI’s role in shaping effective and efficient marketing strategies will only continue to grow. So, this festive season, it’s more than a suggestion—it’s an imperative—for brands to harness the full scope of AI’s transformative power.
Craft Standout Campaigns
Creating innovative and creative campaigns is important to truly differentiate your brand in the saturated festive market. One such groundbreaking initiative was our Double Gold Rate Protection Plan, branded under the catchy hashtag #FaidaFixHai. This unique offering allowed customers to lock in the gold rate, safeguarding against both upward and downward fluctuations. Thus, the customer wins regardless of whether the gold rate goes up or down.
Breaking through traditional barriers, the Double Gold Rate Protection Plan transformed how gold is purchased and stored. This unique offering resonated with those always waiting for the best gold rate to make a purchase. The campaign’s success was not just in its innovative approach but also in understanding the market and customer behavior while delivering real value.
The #FaidaFixHai campaign also tapped into the cultural beliefs and traditions associated with the festive season. In many cultures, purchasing gold during festivities is seen as a sign of good fortune and potential future returns. But the appeal of gold transcends cultural boundaries. In some cultures, gold is considered to be a manifestation of the goddess Lakshmi, symbolizing wealth and prosperity. In others, it’s seen as shagun or a token of good luck.
By aligning the campaign with these multifaceted beliefs, you can connect with customers on a deeper, more universal level, making your festive campaigns impactful and emotionally resonant.
Keep an Eye on Emerging Trends
For legacy lifestyle brands, remaining static is no longer an option; you must always be on the lookout for industry trends and changing customer behavior. For instance, buying digital gold heralds a recent shift in consumer behavior in the jewelry industry.
Many customers are looking forward to purchasing gold for personal use or gifting as an investment. This trend of buying digital gold has been particularly noticeable during festivities, where it’s considered auspicious and a sign of good fortune. This is more than a mere shift; it’s a cultural evolution.
In response to this shift towards smaller, more accessible gold investments, we’ve innovated with offerings like DigiGold. The objective is to make the concept of ‘auspicious gold buying’ attainable at various price points, merging tradition with technology. The festive season is no longer just about traditional buying patterns; it’s about understanding new consumer behaviors and leveraging technology to meet those needs.
Go Beyond Just Campaign Days: Build Yourself Up For Success
If there’s one thing common about festivals, it’s the spreading joy and sense of celebration that sweeps through families, communities, and brands, too! It is your golden ticket to connect with your audience on a deeper level and build robust relationships. I’m not just talking about a few days of festive marketing anymore; I’m talking about celebrating the customers before and after the actual festive days. In today’s data-enriched world, a marketer should be easily able to splice out various cohorts of users – the loyalists, the dormant users, or the highly engaged users and customize incentives or “Insider Benefits” for each cohort.
Which cohort you invest more in will depend largely on your business focus, but it will ultimately be much cheaper to retain a customer than it will be to acquire a new one. Now, let’s talk about all the new users that transacted the first time during your festive campaign. While this is exciting, many times, brands lose focus on what to do with these newly acquired sets of users once the festive fervor ends. This, in my opinion, should be avoided at all costs. This user has just transacted with you, and it is fair to say that they remember you and know your value proposition. It would be a great opportunity to try to convert these recent transactors to future brand advocates. A thoughtfully crafted engagement campaign can achieve that.
A simple feedback questionnaire or a rating scale will make them feel valued and re-emphasize why they invested in you in the first place. This will set a solid foundation for your engagement with them going forward.
At The End Of The Day, Remember To Forge Unforgettable Experiences
I would like to end by saying that while festivals are a celebration of life and culture and a wonderful time for lifestyle brands to acquire new consumers, it’s time we infuse our marketing strategies with a balanced approach between acquisition and retention.
After all, we’re not just creating acquisition of retention campaigns; we’re crafting experiences that will be cherished for years to come by both our new and existing customer base.
Cheers to a season that promises not just growth but an abundance of joy and meaningful connections!
