The holidays are the most wonderful time of the year for consumer-based ecommerce and retail marketers, as increased sales are almost always guaranteed. The nature of the season is that people will spend, spend, spend—starting well before Black Friday and continuing right up until Christmas Eve.

Once the holidays are over, however, brands struggle to maintain those new customers. Why?

Well, the reasons are many, and you can overcome them if you’re prepared.

Change in Buyer Persona

The number one reason brands struggle with buyer retention after the holidays is that the person who made the purchase isn’t the usual target audience. Do you think Grandma needs another laser tag set once Christmas is over? Or that Dad will ever be caught inside another Forever 21 clothing store?

The holidays are a time of buying, yes, but mostly buying for others. If you’re planning to hold onto those buyers with loyalty programs, you’ll be disappointed. They could come back, but probably not until next November.

So, this is the tough one to beat, but you can. First, realize that the gift recipient likely requested the purchase, and that means your brand is already on their radar. To hedge your bets, include information with each purchase on where to find your brand—website, social media platforms, review pages, customer communities, and an invitation to subscribe to your newsletter.

Once you receive the information from the actual recipients, then your usual customer retention activities should do the trick.

One-Time Pricing

This is a tactic that can backfire on you no matter what time of year. There are two common scenarios, and both can hurt you.

First, there’s the special discount for first-time customers. Why is this a bad thing? Well, imagine how all your loyal buyers who paid full price for each purchase feel seeing the newbies get a great deal. That can be enough to cause some customer churn among even your most ardent supporters.

Second, there’s a discount for any buyers—and this can come back to bite you, too. With Anchor Bias, buyers tend to remember the first information they’re shown. If that’s a low price on a product, they’ll judge the value of your products against that price forevermore.

Let’s say you slash prices by fifty percent leading up to the holidays. Exciting, right? You’ll probably make lots of sales. But once prices return to normal, buyers will have a hard time justifying a new purchase when everything was so cheap just a month ago.

Now, with a realistic discount, you should be fine. Shoppers can forgive a slightly higher price after the holidays. Five percent off won’t affect the perceived value of your products.

Post-Holiday Budget Cuts

It’s no secret that marketing budgets are often on the butcher’s block, ready for slicing and dicing every time the new fiscal year arrives. If your brand cuts marketing budgets in January, then you can expect to see a big drop in customer retention.

Why? Because that marketing budget is necessary to enact strategies for buyer retention after the holidays. In fact, the months after the holidays are the most important when it comes to developing and maintaining a relationship with new brand fans.

While we rarely recommend cutting marketing budgets, we do understand that sometimes tough choices must be made. Some money-saving options are available, such as outsourcing to an agency rather than hiring a full in-house team. A Fractional CMO can also help bridge gaps during financial downturns or when your company isn’t big enough to employ a full-time CMO.

If you must cut the marketing budget, consider some of your alternatives, and also consider waiting until the middle of the year, so that new relationships can be fostered and solidified with the buyers you earn during this holiday season.

When you need help, we’re here for you. Just reach out when you’re ready.