Are You Marketing Your Brand for Self-Gifting? 4 Ideas to Boost Your Efforts.

Is your business capitalizing on the idea of self-gifting? According to an article in TIME, this holiday season self-gifting will reach all time highs with the average person laying down $237 on themselves.  The article went on to say that

over 20% of the average shopper’s gift kitty is expected to be self-designated in 2012.

So.  The next logical question to ask is– How many of you are taking advantage of this growing trend  of self-gifting when it comes to marketing your business this holiday season?

The fact is, unlike big brands and shopping malls who have more widely targeted the self-gifters, most of us in the independent designer community tend to focus on marketing our brand or product to those who have gifts to buy.

We try to get featured in magazines spreads titled “10 best gifts for her this season”, we set up shop at holiday markets that boast “get all your holiday shopping done in one spot!”, we go through our product line and mark the scarves “best gift for mom” and the sweaters “your sister will love this!”.   Holiday marketing always tends to be geared towards others.

Not to imply that those efforts aren’t important.  In fact, they’re a must.  But based on the statistics above, it seems as though we all need to be taking your marketing campaigns one step further and catering to those people who, caught up in the purchasing spirit, don’t leave themselves off the list.

Here are a few ideas for implementing self-gifting into your marketing efforts:

• Style Bloggers: Beef up your pitching to style bloggers.  They tend to have audiences who love fashion and are often on the prowl for new looks.  If a consumer sees your party dress on her favorite blogger in late November, she may just feel the need to get one for herself.
• Offer an Extra: Think about offering a discounted “extra” with purchase.  Are you a jewelry designer? Create a campaign around a piece and offer a second piece at a discount.  “One for mom, one for you”
• Focus on the stress of the season: The holidays are so stressful, all that shopping, eating, and hostessing will take its toll for sure. Tell your customers how much they deserve a new leather tote to make all that running around a whole lot easier.
• Mention all the parties/entertaining: Tis the season to party party party.  Remind your customers that there’s no better time for great new dress to rock the season.

These are just a few things to think about to add a little boost to your holiday marketing efforts.

Have you embraced the idea of marketing towards self-gifting?