The Easter Bunny, eggs, and bigger sales! These are three things you can always expect around Easter time. But what has any of this got to do with the death and resurrection of Jesus? Absolutely nothing. It is just a way people great in sales and marketing have devised to drive sales to their business.
More on that later. First, let us see the origin of Easter.
Easter started as a non-christian holiday
Like many Christian holidays, Easter began as a non-christian holiday, this happened with most holidays and there is nothing wrong with it. Different cultures have influenced most religions today. Don't get creeped out, but some holiday origins are pretty scary. During Halloween, the poor would go to the riches’ houses and demand food and drink. If not given, they would beat up the household. They also drank and sang the entire night. Later this tradition was modernized, and instead of the poor going door to door demanding food and drink, today we have children going for tricks or treats, basically asking for candy at a stranger's door.
Valentine’s day also has a gruesome supposed origin. Men would often stripe naked and then sacrifice a goat or a dog. In some historical archives, it is said that these men would then proceed to beat their wives with the carcass’ skin, which they believed would bring them good fortunes. Maybe that is why Valentine's is associated with red, because of all the blood that was involved?
In the case of Easter, it is believed to have first started as a pagan holiday as well. Though not as gruesome as the rest, Easter was first celebrated by Pagan Germans who worshipped the goddess Eostre during this time of the year. Her symbol was a rabbit, explaining why we also associate Easter with bunnies.
But like Christmas, which also started as non-christian holiday, the Catholic Church wanted to convert more people to Christianity. So they associated Easter with the death and resurrection of Jesus. To put it simply, the Catholic Church saw that the pagans had their traditions. Instead of trying to change those traditions, they merely changed the connection to the holiday. Instead of associating Easter with the goddess Eostre and the changing of seasons, we associate Easter with the death of Jesus.
If this is not one of the best marketing successes ever documented, I don't know what is.
But this was only the beginning and the late 19th century saw the actual commercialization of Easter. First up were postal companies who pushed for people to send Easter cards to their loved ones. This marketing technique was heavily successful, seeing that it has stuck to this day.
But other companies also saw the value of associating Easter to their businesses.
Today almost every company has a sales technique geared for major holidays. Black Friday, Christmas, New Year, and Easter are top of that list.
What are techniques should you use to increase your sales during Easter?
Build a sense of urgency
What makes Easter such a great marketing tool is that it is short, which builds a sense of urgency. The holiday is still pretty early in the year, meaning people are still focused on their goals. This sense of urgency is one of the best tools any salesperson should have and implement, making Easter the perfect time for quick sales. This makes it the perfect opportunity to create offers and discounts, leading people to make spontaneous purchases.
Offer family discounts
Another great approach is offering sales discounts to families. As we mentioned, the Catholic Church associated Easter with the death and resurrection of Jesus which represents love and sacrifice. This can be seen on Easter as it is mainly a day put aside for family. People are more likely to spend more on their family on this weekend. Therefore as a good salesperson in Kenya, you can create discounts for family and friends to push your products more.
Focus on FOMO
One thing that is true to almost everyone is the need not to be left out. As mentioned, Easter is a very short holiday. People are in a rush to get the holiday over with and get back to work, especially for many small and medium Kenyan businesses. If you want to be a great salesperson, creating a campaign running on everything Easter might be great for you. Push your campaign with things like Easter egg hunts. This is probably not popular in Kenya, but because of the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO), many people could participate, driving your sales up.
With that in mind, you can see how powerful sales and marketing is over the Easter period as a company and as a salesperson. It is time to take advantage of such crucial marketing opportunities.
Are you looking to become a better salesperson?
Sales is one of the most essential elements of any business today. Just a quick search online, and you will see thousands of sales jobs in Kenya at every given time. In fact, research says that companies spend over 8 trillion dollars worldwide on their sales forces yearly. As you can see, it is a highly in-demand job.
Here at Yusudi, we focus on a practical approach when it comes to sales training in Kenya. We understand that first-hand experience is vital for any Kenyan salesperson. Therefore we offer 6 months paid internship with one of our partner companies to our best students after the eight weeks of training.
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Any company needs a great sales team to push its products. You might be wondering what you can do to improve your RIO. The answer might lie in your sales strategy. The first step is to work with credible and experienced salespeople. That is what Yusudi offers you.
Reach out to us here and let us help you improve your sales team to drive up your sales.