Happy, Sensitive, Inclusive Holidays

By Sanya Weathers

With the internet, most products (especially those related to games and social media) are global. Being a responsible company during the holiday season means being sensitive and inclusive to all of your customers, not just a few. Here’s a little advice to help make the most of the season:

–    Don’t be too sensitive. Nothing will ring more falsely than completely repressing all possible specific references in favor of bland and generic sentiments.  Trying to acknowledge every single celebration tradition will just make you (and all of your entirely secular users) vaguely insane. Take the pressure off yourself.

–    Do let customers know how your particular celebration will affect them… or not, as the case may be. What will your holiday hours be? Will you be adding customer service personnel in anticipation of all the people who will be using your product either for the first time or more heavily than usual, thanks to extra vacation time? Communicate that to your users, over all of your channels.

–    Know your audience. This doesn’t apply to mass market products, but to small products and concepts. If your customer niche is made up predominantly of those who celebrate a particular holiday, then play it up. Use this opportunity to assure this group that you’re not trying to be all things to all people, but a terrific thing for a specific kind of person.

–    The world is round, and the seasons are different depending on the hemisphere. Why not acknowledge your southern South American, South African, and Australian customers with a nod to their seasonal warmth?

–    Focus on universal, positive elements of the holidays that have no one tradition has a lock on. Light into darkness, new beginnings, giving gifts, remembering the less fortunate, all of these provide ample opportunities for celebration. I’m throwing in my vote for Child’s Play, if you’re looking for something to focus on.