The winter holidays are upon us, and for most businesses that means the potential for a significant uptick in company interest. However, to convert those interested people into customers- either last minute shoppers or post-holiday sale-seekers – you’ll want to give your audience a reason to choose you over their other options.
Even if you don’t have a lot of time or a huge budget to put together a fully customized marketing plan to get your business through the holidays, you can still make the most of the upcoming shopping season. Small changes in your strategy over the next couple of months can mean big changes in your sales figures, and that’s a really nice way to end the year. Here are four little things you can prepare right now to kick-start your holiday marketing.
1. Make the place look festive. Get yourself and your audience into the holiday spirit by doing a little decorating. This could mean decorating your place of business and sharing photos of your work over social media, changing your Twitter theme to something more holiday-like, or updating your website header to reflect the season. This makes your business seem friendly and hints that you will be offering some sort of holiday specials.
2. Prepare some special offers. If your audience is expecting holiday specials, don’t disappoint them! This is a perfect time of year to bring out any offers you think your customers would enjoy. With the new year around the corner, if you can tailor your offers to help people start the year right, so much the better.
3. Help people with their gift shopping. If your business revolves around physical products, put together some gift packages of products that make sense together, so that people can buy one package (perhaps at a discounted price) and have a nice gift to give. If your business is service-based, festive gift certificates (both physical and virtual) can help your customers share your service with their friends and loved ones.
4. Throw in extras. It’s the season of giving, and people will appreciate free extras more now than at any other time of year. Whether you offer free gift wrapping for customers who spend over a certain amount, percentage discounts for larger orders, or even make a charitable donation for each dollar spent, your customers will remember good deals well beyond the holiday season.
Do you have some special holiday marketing campaigns ready to launch? What kinds of holiday campaigns have worked well for you in the past?
