Holiday Season Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

The joyful holiday season is approaching soon, and it is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! The streets and stores are decorated with goodies and discount offers. All small and large businesses are getting in the spirit and gearing up for the deluge of shoppers. Several businesses generate the biggest percentage of their annual sales in this quarter. Also, customers look forward to enjoying a shopping spree set into motion after the recent Black Friday sale.

Many buyers save money to leverage the sales period for buying expensive products at bargain prices. With brands competing with all their might to grab the attention of customers, the marketing space has become all the more aggressive and cluttered. It is challenging for small businesses to entice their target audience amidst all the noise. Whether you are a seasoned entrepreneur or have recently purchased a business for sale in Brisbane, here are a few marketing tips to help you grab a piece of the market share.

1. Deck Up for the Festive Season

Who does not love Christmas presents? So, prepare your business for the most anticipated time of the year with some visual changes. Create special holiday landing pages for your company website, print ads and online campaigns that showcase the holiday sale season. Keeping the estimated number of shoppers in mind, ensure you have the required stock and staff to handle the influx of buyers.

Similarly, you will have to upgrade your e-commerce enabled websites to show discount pop-ups, speed up the loading time and manage the high traffic effectively. It is essential to upgrade the plug-ins and update content to make sure customers enjoy an immersive online shopping experience.

2. Offer Discounts and Run Contests

It is a no-brainer that the holiday season means discounts and offers for customers. However, you can make it more interesting by providing coupon codes on every purchase to get repeat orders right away. You can start providing Christmas goodies for free with every purchase, which helps to attract buyers and gain exposure online.

Running contests online and in-store can achieve high visibility and increase conversions. Bundling complimentary products together and selling them at a lower price or ‘buy one get one’ are some of the other ways of getting more orders. You can also start a ‘tag your friends’ contest on Instagram to increase awareness.

3. Package Your Products Like Gifts

Although the holiday season is all about gifting, many buyers use it for buying things for personal use. However, opening a beautifully wrapped gift box will give them a sense of joy that is unmatched. Thus, create an unboxing experience for the buyers with special holiday packaging, including customised wishes that tug at their heartstrings.

Prepare a gift guide for your products by categorising them according to age and gender. Create a page on the website offering details about these gift items and inform your store manager and employees about the strategy. It will help in cross-selling and boosting sales.

4. Use Social Media Influencers

Buyers are spending most of their time online with the usage of Smartphones. Social media has become the most popular platform for connecting with others and consuming creative content. Thus, utilising influencers in your market niche can work wonders for your business. It would come as a seal of approval for a large number of followers.

Live streaming of opening a gift box received from your company on YouTube can help engage the target audience. Ask the influencers to promote the sale period on social media by providing discount codes and offers to customers. Make them send out the message of ease of shopping, great discounts and exceptional service to find new customers. You can even partner with famous bloggers and get recommended by them.

5. Take Advantage of Digital Marketing

The customer database consolidated with details of every buyer over the year can be best utilised during the holiday season. Use the list for sending personalised e-mails to existing customers and prospective buyers with information about the discounts. Update your website content with holiday shopping blogs, news, and information to entice buyers and showcase your offerings in a different light.

Use paid online advertising and search engine optimisation to show up in all the search results related to your products. Facebook ad retargeting is another way of persuading interested buyers to purchase. The ads remind potential buyers about the products they browsed or added to their wish lists. Create holiday-based promotional videos, images and text posts for social media and update all local listings to gain traction.

6. Show Gratitude to Buyers

Showing some love to your buyers is essential during the holiday season, which makes their purchases special and enhances brand loyalty. Get holiday cards printed for all in-store buyers and provide them with a special holiday return policy of 15 to 30 days in case of damage or defect.

Create gift cards for your loyal buyers and provide free shipping over the purchase of more than two products to those using the website during the holiday season. You can also give out branded merchandise as Christmas gifts, such as coffee mugs, bottles, pens, caps, t-shirts, and more. It can help you gain the acceptance of your audience if you have acquired a business for sale in Brisbane and want to expand quickly.

7. Collaborate With A Not-For-Profit Entity

It is the best time of the year to partner with a charity or not-for-profit organisation, working in your community or towards a cause that aligns with the brand’s vision. It will help improve visibility, credibility and loyalty among the target audience. Buyers are showing affinity towards businesses concerned about social issues after the pandemic. Thus, it makes sense to use this marketing strategy for social good and business improvement.

The business owner can contribute a part of the profits generated from the holiday sales to the social cause. It will give people another reason to buy from the brand since holidays are supposed to be the season of sharing and caring. It will help the charity and the business.

Conclusion

The holiday season is the time to thrive for small businesses. Preparing the marketing plan in advance is vital to make the most of this joyous period. Use the cost-effective marketing techniques mentioned above to enjoy stunning sales and gain a wider customer base.