Lauren Alt-Kishpaugh
VP of Marketing
It’s no longer a game of growth at all costs for marketers; it’s a game of efficiency.
Budgets are tight, timelines are restrained, and resources are more limited than ever. Small and midsized go-to-market teams are particularly challenged with executing creative and interesting campaigns that drive results without the headcount or assets of larger organizations.
End of year can be one of the most productive times for B2B organizations to drive new business—whether that be around holiday campaigns, end of fiscal year incentives, or sales kickoffs the following year. Last year at Postal, our then four person marketing team was tasked with creating meaningful interactions with prospects and customers in evaluation by offering holiday-themed gift sets from Teak & Twine.
Tis’ the season to get scrappy and make the most of our spend to create memorable brand moments for prospects and customers. Read on to learn how we influenced $60k in pipeline with a $15k budget.
The objective
Thinking beyond the horizon of December 25th, we aimed to launch an offline holiday campaign that touched prospects in evaluation as well as customers. We also wanted to ensure our holiday gift offerings supported BIPOC owned and minority businesses—Postal Marketplace vendor, Teak & Twine, does a great job of ensuring the items in their boxes support such vendors as well as other local businesses.
Operating on a tight budget with restrictions, limited resources, and a short timeline, we had to make a big impact with prospects and customers in evaluation.
{{cta}}
The play
We picked three different packages from Teak & Twine based on pricing tiers that supported BIPOC owned and minority businesses and distributed them 50% to customers and 50% to prospects in an effort to stay top of mind during the holiday season.
Our marketing team worked with our Paper Plane Agency to ensure these boxes were curated with items from small and local vendors. All we had to do was provide specifics around budgets, description of what we wanted, and they provided the deliverables.
Each box had a branded look and feel and contained items that people would actually use, including a branded notecard and band around the gift box. For some of the VIP boxes we included a separate note that spoke to our high-value customer or prospect.
The idea of this campaign was to serve as an evergreen reminder that Postal can accommodate to all your holiday gifting needs, whether that be leading up to December 25th, or occasions beyond the New Year. Because of the clever, seasonal messaging, all of the gift sets flew off the shelves and were gone within two weeks time.
The impact
With a budget of $15k and a timeline that called for a 6 week turnaround, this campaign aimed to make an impact with prospects in evaluation of purchasing as well as customers who we wanted to maintain a good relationship with throughout the holiday season.
Cost breakdown
We categorized the three boxes correspondingly with the value of the account we wanted to influence. In total, 100 boxes were distributed—the cost breakdown and quantity of each is shown below excluding shipping.
- The Toast ($140) - QTY= 25
- The Winter Cheer ($118) - QTY= 25
- The Cocoa - ($63) - QTY = 50
Results and metrics
This campaign engaged decision-makers within 50 high-value customer accounts as well as another 50 target accounts. It’s important to note that we didn’t include a hard CTA to “request a demo” or “get started” with our gift offerings to maintain authenticity—positioning your gift offering as a gesture conveys that you’re trying maintain or build a friendly relationship, as opposed to selling something.
Aside from a plethora of delighted prospects and customers, this holiday campaign drove over $60k in revenue, achieving a 4x ROI (return on investment).
Ideas and inspiration
From gift boxes curated from local vendors to customized or branded swag kits, Postal is built to accommodate any creative holiday gifting initiative you have in mind. Shop our gifting marketplace from thousands of items or use our Paper Plane Agency to assist in the design of high-impact gifts, promotional materials, and merchandise.
Need inspiration but don’t know where to start? Discover our blog on holiday gifting trends to move you in the right direction.
Here are a few ideas from our Holiday Catalog to get your gears spinning
Whether you're looking to drive end-of-year customer renewals or get decision-makers to expedite a deal within a buying committee, here are a handful of ideas to help you win big on the go-to-market front during the holiday season.
Pricing guide:
$ = $0-25
$$ = $25-75
$$$ = $75-150
$$$$ = $150+
Name of item - Hometown Map Rocks Glass
Vendor - Well Told
Description - Customize a best-selling 11 oz. rocks glass and whiskey glassware with a beautifully engraved map of any city or town in the U.S. Simply type and select your town. The standard side etching is the GPS coordinates of the center of the city or town you've chosen. Custom-etched rocks glasses are made-to-order, and take up to 3 business days to ship.
Price - $
Name of item - Winter Warmer Gift Set
Vendor - Loved and Found
Description - Enjoy gourmet cookies and hot cocoa around the fire for an evening of enjoyment. Gift set includes: small batch hand-ground hot chocolate in a decorative tin, a box of salted caramel almond chocolate chip cookies from Lark Fine Foods, tied cinnamon sticks, and a small slide top wooden box tied with twine and seasonal foliage.
Price - $$
Name of item - Custom Brew
Vendor - Paper Plane Agency
Description - Can’t decide between coffee or tea? Send them both with a custom branded mug to enjoy their brewed beverage of choice in! Tea Drops are one of the hottest tea items on the market, and you can’t beat a custom branded small batch bag of coffee.
Price - $$$
Name of item - The Cabin
Vendor - Teak & Twine
Description - Cozy up by the fire with relaxing winter getaway essentials. The Cabin gift box includes everything you need, like a set of handcrafted mugs, gourmet hot cocoa by Public Goods, a scented candle by P.F. Candle Co., and a luxe gold candle snuffer. This gift contains products from women owned small businesses. Teak & Twine is also a veteran and woman owned small business. This gift box includes artisanal hot cocoa, mini plaid matches, gold candle snuffer, a set of two terracotta mugs, two artisanal chocolate bars, a set of two wooden coasters, and scented candles.
Price - $$$$
Execute efficiently, with less this holiday season
Getting in front of people during the holidays doesn’t have to require a complex digital ABM strategy involving intent data and sales and marketing working together. It can be simple and efficient with a meaningful offline engagement strategy that creates one-off moments and elevates business-critical relationships.
Get started with Postal to learn what to send, and when, within the buyer’s journey of prospects and renewal evaluation process of customers.
