Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Marketing Your Small Business during Christmas



4 Marketing Tips You can Use this Holiday Season

Christmas can be a make or break
season for many small business owners
Believe it or not, Christmas is right around the corner and Thanksgiving and Black Friday are closer than we think. Although it may seem too early to begin holiday marketing, now is the time to start advertising your business and any holiday sales you may have coming down the pipeline. But, before sending yourself and your marketing team into a tailspin to get the process going, here are some marketing tips that can help get you and your business ready for the fast approaching holiday season.

Always Plan Ahead

While it may seem too late to dive into a full blown holiday marketing campaign, there is still time to get the most out of the few months you have left before the spending season begins. Just like with any great marketing campaign, it is all about planning ahead. Make sure to have a clear idea of what your message is going to be, who the target audience is, how you are going to market, and what the campaign should achieve before you begin. This does not mean you need to have a fully fleshed out plan with every single detail – as long as the business has a clear idea of where it is headed, the campaign is almost guaranteed to be successful even with only a few short weeks left before the holiday.

Make Sure Your Promotions are Fresh

When you have had successful holiday promotions in the past, it can be easy to send out the same promotions year after year. Business owners like consistency and sending out a recurring promotion every season may seem like a safe bet. The trick to holiday marketing is showing customers something they have never seen before and proving to them that they can benefit from the deals the business is offering. If you are dead set on offering the same deals this season, consider changing up how you market it. Redesign flyers, email, and other materials to grab consumer’s attention and consider adding a little extra giveaway to the deal, like an additional discount or multiple purchase promotion.

Remind Consumers How Much Time they Have Left to Buy

While you do not want to put customers into a panic about the amount of shopping time that is left before the holidays, it may work to your advantage to gently remind them that time is running out. Adding a countdown to your regular marketing flyers or cards and sending out daily social media messaging on Facebook or Twitter about how many days are left to finish their Christmas list is a great way to incite some type of urgency in consumers and get them out into the market to buy, ideally with your business. In conjunction with the countdown, make sure to create a buzz around your specific holiday deals and promotions to bring customers in and get them excited about your offers.

Make Sure to Say Thank You

Creating interest around your holiday promotions and boosting sales during this spending season is important for the business, but so is showing customers that their patronage is appreciated. Christmas and the holiday season is the perfect time to show consumers how much you care about them and how much their business means to you. Make sure to work in sending thank you or holiday cards to your best customers and even consider offering them exclusive deals for their loyalty to the business. This type of appreciation will go a long way, not just during the holidays, but for your business all year round.

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*Photo Courtesy of Graham Hills via Creative Commons License

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