Frighteningly Fantastic Marketing Tips from McCauley Marketing Services

Halloween is approaching, and everyone’s minds are on spooky scenes and creepy costumes.

There is one thing you don’t want to look scary this month, though: your balance sheet. If you don’t yet have plans to make the most of the holiday, our marketing experts have some tips to help you make October a startling success.

Plan Your Halloween Events Carefully

For anyone with kids in their lives, the days and weeks before Halloween are busy. They’re planning their children’s costumes, working out trick-or-treating routes, navigating school events, and more. If you try to plan an event at your business the week of Halloween, you can count on a low attendance because everyone is busy preparing for the holiday.

If you want to have an in-person or time-specific event, schedule it earlier in the month. If you want to have an event or promotion closer to Halloween or another upcoming holiday, it’s better to make it a hands-off event like a phone sale or a digital coupon. These specials are far easier for customers to take advantage of when their schedules are tight.

Be Inclusive

As much fun as some people have with Halloween, it’s important to recognize that it isn’t universal. Some people choose not to support the holiday for a variety of reasons. As a business, you want to be sure to respect those people amid your own celebrations and promotions.

Be careful not to pressure anyone to participate in Halloween-specific situations like costume contests. This includes your employees as well as your customers. The last thing you want to do is alienate people over something you intended to be a fun party or promotion.

Keep Your Festivity Reasonable

Halloween is a time when people embrace their spooky sides. Of course, everyone has their own definitions of how scary is too scary, and there is always a risk of someone going too far.

You want your employees to be able to get creative with their costumes and decorations but keep everything to a safe and professional limit. This is especially true if you may have children visiting your business. You don’t want to literally scare away customers, or worse, startle someone so much that they could have a medical emergency. Make sure you manage your employees as they prepare and that you’re clear with them in advance about what is and is not appropriate.

Use Teamwork

In most cities and towns, there are public events that happen around Halloween. Your local area may have a festival, a parade, or an organized trick-or-treating event. As a business, this is the perfect opportunity for you to develop a relationship with your community and spread the word about your services.

As early as possible, find out any Halloween events in your area and get involved whenever it’s appropriate for your company and practical for your marketing budget. Be sure to take note of the events that happen consistently each year so you can plan further ahead next year.

This Halloween, like any holiday, is a chance for you to reach your customers (and future customers) on a personal level. You can use the holiday to connect with them in a fun environment and nurture your relationship as their new favorite physician’s office, medical spa, or whatever your business may be. The tips above will give you a jumpstart.