The holiday season is just around the corner. The temperature is dropping, the planning for celebrations and parties starts, and many festivities will soon be taking place. The holiday season also means an increase in deals and shoppers. Many people will soon be on the lookout for discounts on all sorts of goods and gifts, which means you have to start planning to make sure you are prepared for them. This is where learning how to market your business during the holidays can come in handy.

Prepare for Holiday Shopping

To prepare for holiday shopping, you need to make sure to mark which days are holidays. This reminds you to prepare marketing materials ahead of time. Having a sufficient amount of time to advertise holiday deals will ensure that your customers know about them and when to shop for them. 

Another reason to prepare for holiday shopping is to make sure that your team will handle the influx of customers that will be looking to cash in on the deals you advertised. Team members will be looking to schedule time off for a holiday, so you don’t want to be shorthanded. If you have only two team members working the holiday shifts, chances are they will be overwhelmed, which can lead to slow processing, which leads to unhappy customers. Properly managing requested time-offs can help you balance the number of people out and the amount of them working.

One more way to prepare for holiday shopping is to decorate your business for the holidays coming up. Halloween is almost here! Maybe hang some plastic skeletons on the ceiling. Christmas is coming up… You better make sure you at least have some decorative lights in your store. This gives your business that holiday feel, which offers the customer the idea that there is a limited time deal in your store. This gives them that push to try and make a purchase while a sale is still happening.

How far in Advance Should I Start Marketing for the Holidays?

To make sure your holiday marketing strategy will be effective, you have to plan it in advance. There are many ads from businesses that will be reaching customers all at the same time. You want your marketing materials to get to your customer on time, or else they might not consider visiting your business. 

For example, you don’t want to be marketing a Black Friday sale the day before it is scheduled to start. That ad will likely not get much attention as it is already too late for customers to plan around it. This is where planning a month ahead would have benefited your business as customers will have had ample time to check out your sales and plan their visits.

Different Sales to Offer

One of the keys to success for holiday sales is having different sales to offer. During the holidays, you don’t want to stick with traditional sales, such as 10% off of an item. Many customers during these times are looking for the best deals they can find. If you are still using the same sales you used back in June, you might not experience much success. This is where being creative with new sales can help. 

One of the sales you can offer is a Black Friday sale. Black Friday sales are very popular with people as that is usually the time to get the best deals on gifts. You have to make sure you can generate a profit with these sales as they usually cut prices of products by more than half! Some other sales you can offer are BOGO sales or even dive into Cyber Monday sales if you sell items online!

Ways to Market Your Small Business

Holiday marketing is a bit different than traditional marketing. You’re not marketing to just casual customers; you’re also marketing towards those that are looking for significant savings and those that are looking to celebrate the holidays. You might have to make some tweaks to the marketing strategy you’ve used throughout the year. This is where it is time to get creative and start marketing in different ways. Here are some ways you can market your small business during the holidays.

• Decorating your store can help in bringing that festive feeling to your customers, as well as your team. When your customers come into your store during the holidays, you don’t want them to feel like it’s any other month. You don’t have to break the bank with decorations. Just a couple of decorations here and there will more than suffice.
• Keep engaging with your customers and posting with your social media accounts. Just because the holidays are here doesn’t mean it is time to slack off on your social media strategy. You want to prime your customers to purchase something from you eventually. With each holiday coming up, it is important that you are marketing sales and deals specific to each holiday. You have to let your customers who follow your social media accounts know when these sales are taking place and how they can take advantage of them. Neglecting your social media can mean that you’re overlooking a portion of your customers. 
• A thank you email to each of your valued customers can go a long way in retaining their loyalty. You can thank them for being part of this year’s journey and hope that they are a part of it next year as well. A personalized email to each of your customers with a deal will do just the trick. 
• The holidays are a great time for you to show off your business’s personality. Show your customers the festive side of your business using holiday marketing promotions. This makes you more relatable to them, leading you to develop more authentic relationships with them. Have some fun during the holiday season!

Conclusion

Marketing in the holiday season might be a little different than any other time of the year. It is a great time for you to try new strategies and have a little fun in your marketing efforts. With these tips, you can start marketing your business to be primed for a successful holiday season.

Marketing during the holiday season can be a challenge. Fortunately, you don’t have to tackle it alone! Contact us here so we can get started!