Every year, the festival season is the most lucrative period to reel in more and more customers via effective email marketing. So much so that sales that have been done during this period can equal or even exceed sales done throughout the year. So, meticulous planning for this period is a given if a firm has to make the most of the opportunity. On the flipside, the lack of a proper strategy can prove to be inherently harmful for all kinds of businesses.

Across the world, thousands of firms have understood the need for effective email marketing during the time of festivities and merriment. This is not just because of the inherent need for shopping, although that is a pretty big factor, but also because research has shown that customers are in a very shopper friendly mode, so to speak, during these times. So, cross channel marketing is the way to go, and email marketing is obviously an inherent part of the whole mix. So, to begin with, the pre-holiday season is obviously the most important phase. This might very well be the ending of summer, when Halloween and carved pumpkins are in the air. According to studies, nearly 40 percent consumers begin shopping for Christmas before Halloween.

This gives significant leverage to firms that begin planning their effective email marketing campaigns. It's also a great way of building momentum for the final strike, so to speak, during the peak Christmas season. Another study shows that nearly 60 percent retailers spoke about Christmas in their email campaigns before October. Basically, it's a means to lay the foundation across different channels like web, social, mobile, email, display, etc. However, brands need to be sure of the right customer details for targeted marketing, so that the right message is conveyed to the right people.

However, including them at the beginning of the discussion could prove to be extremely fruitful, since they can provide valuable insights regarding what kind of data can be made available and what can be done with it. Data segmentation is of utmost importance in today's time to create a more personalized environment for the customer, so to speak. Also, once the campaign thought is in place, factors like frequency of blast, kind of layouts to be used, etc. can be deduced in a ball-park kind of scenario, with some room for adjustments at a later stage, if the need arises.

These might seem like really simple steps, but they can lead to phenomenal growth for organizations of all kinds!