January - how did that happen?!
It's January already, where on earth did Christmas go? It seems only yesterday we were finalising plans, PR, events, press releases, parties and presents for clients and now it's all over and January has come around again.
January used to mean 'The Sales'. But sales are starting earlier and earlier, and in these times well before Christmas. It seems customers got savvy and flexed their spending power, browsing and shopping via the internet, getting to know where the good online deals were, before going off line and visiting the stores themselves looking for deals. And the retailers blinked first.
Now at the risk of using a cliché (forgive me, it is just after Christmas!), there is no putting that genie back in the bottle. Customers have become used to sales before Christmas and I can't see that trend being reversed for a long time, if ever.
So, how to make the best of the situation?
I can't pretend to have all the answers, if any. But I do know this; shops and brands need to continue to communicate with their customers. They need to treat them as mature adults for whom decision making is a part of their ordinary lives.
They need to show they understand their customers hopes, dreams, aspirations, needs, wants and the other ordinary minutiae that make up our every day lives. They need to show a sense of humour, even if sometimes it does not appear to be appropriate at first glance. They also need to acknowledge the difficulties customers might be going through, without patronising them which is quite a balancing act. They also need to reflect that bad times pass, things change and life does indeed go on.
This year I'm going to try to do that for my clients, new year, new schedules, new ideas; it's just one of my resolutions - the other is to give up swearing - let's hope I can do both as the results might just be startling!