Q4 prep: what you should be locking in right now

Hey, it’s Arik.

We’re in August, which means we’re about 6 weeks out from the chaos of Q4.

It's the busiest time of year for many brands, and my team and I are already deep in holiday season planning mode. Calendars are being mapped out, offers are being tested, retention is getting dialed, and performance teams are already thinking through how this year’s peak season needs to look different from last.

Here’s a high-level look at how to make sure you’re set up for a strong finish to 2025, without feeling rushed or chasing every shiny idea.

Let’s get into it.

Step 1: Look Back Before You Plan Forward
Your past performance is your best roadmap. Start with last year and pull your top-performing Q4 campaigns from 2024, whether it's ads, emails, or offers. Dig into what actually made them convert, and extract the insights and use them to guide and shape the themes and creative pillars for this year’s holiday season.

Was it timing? Tone? Offer structure?


Step 2: Don’t Let November Own Your Entire Strategy
A few brands are already seeding early access and waitlist language into their ads and extending them beyond November. They're queueing up October bundles, rolling out gifting sets and installment options, and some are even running pre-sales starting in Q3 to give their audience more time to plan, budget, and browse.

This kind of runway also helps average order values climb naturally instead of forcing high-pressure discounts, and gives you more time to test angles, gather feedback, and refine messaging, so by the time Black Friday arrives, you’re scaling what’s already working


Step 3: Focus on Value-First Messaging
This year, I’m seeing more brands dialing back on flash discounts to lean into more purposeful offers that focus on value, performance, and emotional connection.

For example, curated bundles with a story behind them, limited gift kits, and even turning bestsellers into entry-level “gifting editions” with smaller sizes and seasonal packaging. It’s a smart play because it offers a lower barrier, higher perceived value, and is built for people who are already in gifting mode.


Step 4: Lock In Your Retention Engine
Retention will be your growth flywheel during Q4. McKinsey says a 5% retention lift can increase profits by up to 95%. And existing customers spend more, convert more, and cost way less to keep than new ones.

At minimum, make sure these are in place:
∙ Welcome series with brand positioning.
∙ Abandonment (cart, checkout, browse) tied to urgency and real objections.
∙ Post-purchase flows that educate, set expectations, and introduces new products.
∙ Winbacks that trigger based on buying cycles.
∙ VIP segmentation for your best customers. Give them early access, exclusives, or loyalty perks before the rest of your list.

If you’re running SMS or WhatsApp, don’t use it to copy-paste your emails. Treat it like its own channel: more personal, more conversational, and way more immediate.


Step 5: Segment Based on Value, Not Just Behavior
This is something we're doing on a few accounts. We're narrowing our retention efforts around high-value buyers. That means tracking AOV, lifetime spend, and frequency, not just opens or clicks, and then building marketing around those people.

You don’t need to “retain everyone.” You need to retain the people who already spend more, buy faster, and refer others.


Step 6: Prep Your Ops and Fulfillment Messaging
If your shipping cutoffs are vague or your delivery windows aren’t clear, you’re going to lose high-intent buyers, especially during peak weeks.

Set clear “order by” dates, use urgency tied to shipping, and build your email and SMS automations now, so you’re not scrambling in November.


Step 7: Build Your Feedback Loop
Everything you test in September gives you leverage in November.
That means starting early creative tests (new bundles, lead-ups to gift guides, storytelling-based campaigns) and watching the data closely. If an ad, angle, or email performs well in October, you scale it. If it doesn’t, you learn and pivot.

One thing I recommend to every brand right now: create a live Q4 scorecard. Track each campaign, offer, and retention send by channel, conversion rate, AOV, and payback window. That visibility makes the rest of the season smoother because you’re not flying blind.

If you’re not sure where to start this week, start here:

1. Pull last year’s top performers and break down why they worked. This is the data that should inform everything from ad angles to email cadence.

2. Draft a 6–8 week offer calendar that doesn’t rely on Black Friday to carry everything.
Set a phased timeline starting with:
∙ Late Sept–early Oct: pre-holiday teasers and early access/promos
∙ Mid–late Oct: product or bundle launches that feel purposeful
∙ Early–mid Nov: midpoint push (gifting, deals)
∙ Thanksgiving–Cyber Week: your big holiday grab window
∙ Late Nov–Dec: nurture-and-retain. Include helpful content, stories, and rewards for loyalty so that the same energy is carried into Q1.

3. Instead of defaulting to 30% sitewide, think about the purpose of each promotion.
Some examples we’re building:
∙ Tiered bundles to increase AOV without devaluing product
∙ Mystery gifts to drive urgency without a discount
∙ Loyalty early access windows that feel exclusive but scale wide

4. Audit your flows and fix what’s outdated. If you’re sending campaigns into a leaky bucket, you’re going to leave a lot of revenue behind.

5. Segment your list into high-value buyers and start brainstorming how to reward them.

6. Run at least one small campaign before September ends, just to test tone, offer, or product focus.

7. Your creatives should be built around Q4 psychology. People shop differently in Q4, and your ad angles need to meet that head-on.

See you next week,
Arik

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