13 Frightfully Useful Campaign Ideas

With the spooky season upon us, businesses need to maximise this stretch of increased consumer spending and start to plan for a prosperous new year. To help you with doing that, we have put together this list of 13 frightfully useful campaign ideas that you can put to work for your business.

1. Carve Out Your Plan

First and foremost, one of the most helpful things that you can do for yourself and your business is to create a plan for your campaigns in advance. The beauty of creating a campaign calendar is that it can be adapted and changed as you go. You would also be surprised at how much you can set up and automate in advance during quieter periods, giving you peace of mind that you are getting your message out and maximising your peak times without the added pressure. Your plan also serves as a handy reference point annually; you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every year completely!

2. Boo! Surprise and Delight Your Best Customers

With businesses that prioritise loyalty experiencing up to 2.5 times the growth of their competitors, customer loyalty is nothing to boo at and is a critical factor for any business looking to grow. Identifying desired customer behaviours so that you can reward and encourage them will likely produce a list of various criteria. For example, recognising that many small and frequent transactions add up over time and add an element of stability and consistency to your business; how often people visit could be a criterion. Similarly, perhaps you only see specific customers once a month, but they also order 2 to 3 times your average transaction value; large transaction values are also desirable and something to encourage. It is crucial to have a mix of loyalty campaigns to engage your best customers no matter how they interact with you.

3. Beware: Dead Inside

Every business owner can tell you their dead times, but your store doesn’t have to be a ghost town! Using promotional campaigns to drive footfall at eerily quiet times could transform your business. For example, say you are a coffee shop owner and Wednesday afternoons are often slow; how about running a ‘bring a ghoulfriend’ campaign and offering two for one coffee? You stand to gain more visits from your engaged customers whilst also increasing your chances of introducing new spirits to your business.

4. #witchandfamous: Influencers

Like or loathe them, social media’s influencers have a reach witch many businesses would love. Partnering with an influencer who aligns your brand and setting up a mutually beneficial agreement can see these local celebrities work their magic and charm their audiences with your message, positioning your business front and centre on their feeds. Try offering them 100% off on their visits on the condition that they post about it and tag your business. Feel free to limit the initial agreement while you test the water and measure your return on investment, and be sure to agree that engagement on these posts is shared.

5. Gaze Into Your Crystal Ball: Customer Data

The next best thing to having a crystal ball is the insight from your customer data; it can be worth a fortune to your business. Try using your data to launch another product to its key market. For example, you could identify a segment for that new product or dish you’re considering using customer behaviour data. For instance, it is reasonable to assume that customers who have purchased the vegan sandwich on your menu will be most interested in your new vegan burger. Try letting them know about your launch and offering them 50% off in the first week.

6. VIP Treatment

Every business has a ‘John’. John was probably there the day you opened. John has perhaps been there almost every day since. John brings you a Christmas card and knows what the casual staff are studying in college. John is well-loved, and he means a lot to your business, and your accountant would notice if John stopped visiting! Long ago, you started giving John 20% off. John is a VIP. Customers like John are the ones you want to enable to order from you by any channel and always get their usual price - so try automating it. The bonus of automating John’s discount is you can also then easily keep track of the transactions to report on them.

7. The More the Scarier

What if you could create more ‘Johns’? Think about the real estate office across the road, or the solicitor’s office two doors up, perhaps the police station in the square. If you can treat these folks to a consistent VIP price, you stand to become their local haunt and increase their spend with you. Partner with your local business neighbours and supercharge your sales. 

8. Give Them Pumpkin To Talk About: Reviews

Encouraging your customers to spill their guts about your business to their family and friends and online is one of the most effective ways to gain new customers. Over 90% of consumers trust family and friends recommendations more than advertising, and almost two-thirds of consumers say that online reviews are an essential part of their decision-making process. 

9. Exorcise At Your Discretion: Food Delivery Marketplaces

Food delivery marketplaces like Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats can be a necessary evil to increase discoverability to new customers. However, the associated costs can be enough to make your head spin! While there are always those who will routinely order from these platforms, the goal is to attract the customer to order directly going forward. Try dropping cards or flyers publicising your direct ordering channels and automate a 10% discount for new customers who use it. If you win back the customer, you could save up to 30% on all their orders going forward, so 10% once is a small price!

10. Eerie-sistable Competitions

Competitions are a spooktacular way to raise awareness of your business. They work great on social media and get you in front of new and existing customers alike. You could consider using a gift card as your competition prize rather than a specific product. They have a more universal appeal allowing the winner to choose what they want from your business based on their preferences. A prize with a broader appeal will increase the reach of your competition.

11. Zom-Be One With The Season

Capitalise on the emotions and nostalgia created by the season itself for your customers by running seasonally themed campaigns, offers and promotions. You could even launch limited edition products or bundles, for example, a pumpkin-spice drink during fall or an advent calendar bundle on the run-up to Christmas. 

12. Don’t Be A Scaredy Cat

Never underestimate the power of being visible online. Make sure you are not hiding under the covers and, show up when your customers and potential customers are looking for you.

As a business with a physical presence, for SEO, it’s vital that at a minimum you ensure your business has a Google My Business listing. Keeping your website up to date, and your social media accounts in order with consistent posting will help you be found at the right times. If you are a cafe or restaurant, check out this blog on increasing online food orders from Facebook and Instagram.

13. Eat, Drink and Be Scary: Events

Hosting events at your premises or taking your business on the road to other events is a fang-tastic way to raise awareness and reach new customers. Perhaps you could bring in live entertainment or host a workshop. Not only does this create opportunities for increased sales at the event itself, but you can maximise the return on investment by offering an exclusive discount to attendees on their return visit.

We might have went all out on the spooky theme for this blog post, however these campaign ideas can help you grow your business all year round. Perhaps you have tried a few already and found success? Or do you have extra ideas we missed? Share your thoughts in the comments below!