Marketing Merry Christmas...

I just got back from a trip to the Post Office.

As I left, I wished the clerk  "Merry Christmas"! I paused to see her reaction.

Her response?

"Same to you."

She should be a marketing consultant!

The Postal Worker didn't use the Politically Incorrect word "Christmas". Nor did she reply with a generic "Happy Holidays!" She cleverly avoided any religious connotation, but returned the exact same sentiment to me in a warm and cheerful way.

As you may know, there's a tremendous marketing controversy centered around retailers using the word "Christmas" this holiday season.

One side opposes the word altogether, The other side insists on it. And the media claims shoppers are voting with their pocketbooks.

This leaves retailers stuck in the middle trying to appease both. Unsuccessfully.

But more than personal greetings, how successful are the the ads that have Holiday Trees and Holiday Cards?

I could discuss this from a variety of angles. But today my question is: What's the best marketing approach?

Start with basics. Know your audience. And connect with them.

Why not sell Christmas Trees? Sure someone will be offended. But how many?

Assess your audience.

Why don't they make kitchen appliances in Harvest Gold and Avocado Green?

Why don't Craftsman tool chests come in pink?

Because there's no demand. Very few people want them. So you lose customers who want those colors. That's business.

Marketing is a business of calculated decisions. For instance, when you set a price, that price will be too high for some and not as high as others will pay. If your price is right, you'll lose some potential customers that don't value what you sell. That's business.

So how many people don't really like the word Christmas. Is it a LARGE number of people or just a LOUD number of people? And vice versa. 

You'd need to assess the demographics of your market to decide for yourself.

But you actually could gain more customers with one word than you stand to lose. 

I think Target made that kind of calculated decision when they decided to do both Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday ads.

I celebrate Christmas. But whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or EID, I think you appreciate someone acknowledging your faith and respecting your holidays and holy days.

So my personal warm wishes to you for a Happy Holiday -- and Merry Christmas.

- Phil Sasso