10 Successful Holiday Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses

Introduction

The holiday season is here! That means people everywhere are getting ready to celebrate with family and loved ones. And, if you’re a small business owner, chances are you’re thinking about ways to cash in on the increased foot traffic that comes with the holidays. But don’t forget: Thanksgiving and Christmas don’t just bring out happy customers—they also bring out bored kids who have nothing better to do than annoy your staff or disturb your other patrons! So while it’s important not to get distracted by this influx of holiday shoppers (and their pesky kids), it’s equally important to take advantage of their presence at your store or office by promoting deals and discounts that will increase sales and improve your bottom line during this busy season.

Create a Holiday Website Banner

• Create a Holiday Website Banner

A holiday website banner is a great way to promote your business during the holidays, and it’s also easy to create. You can use your logo or create something with a holiday theme that will drive traffic to your site. To make sure you have the best possible results, keep these tips in mind:

• Keep it simple and eye-catching. A holiday website banner should be visually appealing but not too busy, so customers don’t get confused when they visit your site. Make sure that anything on the banner can easily be read from any distance away so people don’t miss important details about what’s happening at your company this season or why they should buy from you instead of another business nearby offering similar products/services.
• Include a call to action (CTA). If there’s one thing we’ve learned about marketing over time is that people respond best when there are clear directions given for them to follow! A CTA will keep visitors engaged longer because they’ll feel like there’s value in staying around until completion instead of leaving quickly without buying anything new off their shopping cart list just yet (which happens often enough). So include whatever kind of CTA makes sense for this particular situation; maybe tell visitors where else they could go within their own city if there aren’t any other options available locally? Or maybe suggest another type of place altogether? Either way works fine as long as its purposeful design helps users find out more information quickly without having too much difficulty accessing certain parts

Share Holiday Deals and Discounts

• Share Holiday Deals and Discounts
• Giveaways are a great way to incentivize your customers to share their experiences with others. You can host a contest on social media or email marketing, where the winner receives some sort of prize—either an actual physical product that’s similar to what you sell or something more fun like a gift card or membership. It’s also important to offer special discounts during major holidays such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas Day. Consider offering extended hours for customers who shop online during these times so they have plenty of time to take advantage of your special offers.
• Post-Holiday Clearance Sales

Offer Free Gift-Wrapping Services

With more and more businesses offering gift wrapping services, it’s important to think about how your business can stand out from the competition. The best way to do this is by offering something that’s unique for your customers. For example, if you offer a product or service that isn’t easily wrapped (such as a flower bouquet), then offering gift wrapping services could be an excellent addition. It not only provides convenience for customers but also shows them how much you appreciate their business and want to make their experience a great one.

It doesn’t matter what type of small business you own—gift-wrapping services are sure to be welcomed with open arms by consumers. Whether they’re buying flowers or jewelry, everyone appreciates having someone else do the work for them!

Capitalize on Social Media

You’re probably already using social media for your personal life, but you can use these same platforms to promote your small business. Social media has become an essential part of many people’s daily lives, and since most people are on their phones all the time, having a presence on social media is crucial to reaching customers.

Social Media Platforms:

• Facebook – Instagram – Twitter – Pinterest – Snapchat – LinkedIn

Get Involved in the Community

You don’t have to be a big-business mogul to participate in community events. Instead, think about how your business can bring its products and services directly to the community. If you own a graphic design studio, for example, you could sponsor an art show at a local museum. If you own a bakery, why not donate your time by offering free cupcakes at a school fundraiser?

Getting involved in the community is one of the easiest ways to get noticed by customers who have never heard of your brand before or who may not normally shop at businesses similar to yours.

Aggravate Customer Loyalty Programs

• Reward your customers for their loyalty.
• If you want to increase customer loyalty, offer a discount or free gift.
• Customers are more likely to buy if they feel appreciated.

Send Out Holiday Emails, Newsletters and Mailers

Sending out holiday emails, newsletters and mailers is a great way to reach your customers and remind them of your business. But don’t just send out any old email—you’ll want to make sure that the content is relevant to the holidays (and not just “Happy New Year” or “Thanks for shopping with us”). And keep in mind that sending too many emails can cause recipients to hit the unsubscribe button.

Your timing needs to be right when it comes to sending out these festive messages: The general rule is late November through early January, but if you’re trying something new or different as part of your holiday marketing strategy this year, you might want to test out different dates and see what works best for your company before finalizing everything.

Make sure you include a call-to-action (CTA) in each email so that people know exactly how they can continue their relationship with you after receiving their message. For example: “Sign up today!”

Host an In-Store Event or Promotion

Host an in-store event or promotion. Whether it’s a holiday party, a bake sale or a charity drive, hosting an in-store event can boost your sales and help you build brand loyalty with customers. To make the most out of this opportunity:

• Give away prizes, coupons and other incentives during the event to encourage repeat visits from customers.
• Make it fun for everyone involved by adding some creativity to your marketing efforts—whether that means having employees dress up as elves or asking customers to donate their shopping bags at checkout so they can be turned into sleeping mats for homeless people. What matters most is that you get people talking about what makes your business special!
• Ask for feedback from customers after the event to find out how they liked being part of it—and then use this information when planning future promotions and events!

Sponsor a Charity Event or Organization

Donating money or time to a local charity can be an excellent way to reach your target audience. For example, if you run an accounting firm and want to attract new customers in the spring, sponsoring a local sledding event would be ideal. You’d have access to families and children as well as their parents—all of whom might need your services come tax season.

As with most marketing strategies, this one depends on the nature of your business and its goals. If it helps your brand image for customers to know that you are active in the community (or even better, active in the communities where they shop), consider sponsoring local events like those mentioned above or others that fall within the scope of what you do professionally.

Make Sure Your Store Can Handle the Increased Traffic

Holiday season is the best time of year for small business owners, but it can also be a lot of work.

Make sure your store or website can handle the increased traffic and make sure you have enough staff to support it. Check your inventory against sales goals, make any necessary changes, then get ready for the holidays!

Make sure your business is ready for the holidays and that you promote deals to customers!

To get the most out of your holiday marketing efforts, you have to be ready for the increased traffic and demand that come with the holidays. Make sure that there are enough supplies to meet demand so you don’t disappoint your customers. Make sure your business is ready for the holidays by having a plan in place for handling increased traffic and be prepared if things go wrong.

Make sure that there are enough employees to handle increased demand during this busy time. If possible, hire temporary workers or part-time employees that can help out during these busy times so that your regular staff can focus on other tasks like delivering products or servicing clients who already know what they want.

Conclusion

The holidays are a great time of year to get your business some extra exposure, but you have to be smart about it. If you can handle the increased traffic, then there’s no reason why your small business shouldn’t be able to reap all these benefits!