Improve Your Small Business Holiday Sales

3 Great Tips to Help You Have a Great Holiday Sales Season

Improve your holiday sales

Recent forecasts have shown that a predicted increase in spending is bound to happen this holiday shopping season – a huge jump in money spent since 2011. While this may be a dismal outlook for buyers as more money is coming out of their pockets, it is a welcome gift for retailers looking to boost their yearly numbers with great Black Friday and overall holiday sales. Because of this promising forecast, it is important for businesses to start preparing for the buying season now to ensure the business is ready for this huge influx of business. Aside from the usual marketing efforts, here are some additional tips to help make the most out of your holiday season.

Consider Extending Operating Hours during the Holidays

The birth of online shopping has put less pressure on retailers to keep stores open later or longer during the holiday shopping season. Online shopping offers consumers the luxury of being able to shop at any time of the day or night. But, analysts say that customers are more likely to spend more money in an actual retail store that they are buying online. Because of this, it may be a good time to consider adjusting your operating hours during the busy shopping season, especially during the month of December. It is also important to make this consideration to help keep up with competition and make sure consumers are spending their money in your store instead of in your competitor’s retail spaces.

Think About Hiring Holiday Help

With the larger influx of customers visiting your store and website, it is important to make sure you have enough staff to handle the demand and still be able to provide great customer service. Many large companies like Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, and others hire many, many additional staff members to help work the extended store hours as well as handle the larger number of customers in a quick, streamlined manner. By offering great customer service during this hectic time, it can help build relationships with consumers, making them more likely to purchase from the business throughout the year instead of just during the holidays. When hiring holiday help, make sure to express that the positions are temporary.

Holiday Freebies Can Go a Long Way

There is nothing better than a business that spreads the holiday cheer while consumers are out shopping for their Christmas gifts. Everyone loves something free, so consider working in some free giveaways with certain purchases. A great marketing campaign to employ is giving away gift cards or high value coupons with a certain purchase. This not only entices consumers to shop with you during the holiday season, but it also encourages them to shop again when the holidays have ended. If you really want to boost sales after the holidays, consider having the gift cards or coupons only be good starting after the busy holiday season – this helps to guarantee a boost in sales later down the line.

Is your small business ready for the holiday season? If you enjoyed this tip, check out our blog every week for tips on starting your own home business, small business mentoring, and so much more! If you would like to see our other tips not, click here.

*Photo Courtesy of Roberto Verzo via Creative Commons License