How to Finish Q4 Strong: Three Moves That Drive Results

Q4 is crunch time. Between holiday shopping, year-end giving, family gatherings, and New Year’s travel, this is the biggest wave of the year. If your ads are not running now, you are missing the chance to close out 2025 strong.

In this Wheeler Wise Guys episode, we break down three steps you can still take right now to make Q4 a win for your business.

1. Clean Your Lists Sending outdated promotions to old audiences is wasted budget. Credit unions sending loan offers to people who moved away years ago is a perfect example. Instead, clean up your lists and use tools like Website Visitor ID to capture real visitors on your site today. If someone is browsing your holiday loan rates or shopping your store page, you can follow up with them tomorrow. That is the difference between chasing ghosts and reaching customers who are ready to act.

2. Refresh and Test Your Ads Old creative blends into the background. This is the season to bring ads to life. Instead of a generic “Year-End Clearance” banner, show real moments:

• A family gathered around a new dining table

• A couple exchanging the perfect gift

• Kids unwrapping presents under the tree

That is the kind of content that makes people stop scrolling. And do not forget to test. Run multiple versions of your ads and let real data decide which one gets more clicks and conversions. At Wheeler Digital, we optimize in real time and shift your budget to what is working.

3. Go Multichannel Q4 customers are not living on just one platform. Donors are streaming holiday movies on Hulu, watching YouTube on their TVs, scrolling Instagram, and opening email. To win, your message needs to appear across multiple screens. The more touchpoints you hit, the faster trust builds. A donor may see your story in a holiday movie, again on Instagram, then again in their inbox. By the third touch, they are ready to click “donate.”

Bottom Line: Q4 is a sprint. Clean your lists, refresh your ads, and spread your message across every channel that matters. Do it now, and you will finish the year strong.