Holidays from Christmas to Father’s Day can bring a sales boost to small businesses — but only with the right strategy. Hanging a sign in the doorway isn’t going to cut it if you want to draw big sales. But, with a few tricks, small businesses can boost their sales with the holidays that happen year round — here’s a few holiday sales tips that can be adapted to any special season.
Connect with the real meaning of the holiday.
If you set out just to make more money because it’s a holiday season, you’re going to fail. Start by recognising the reason that the holiday is celebrated in the first place. Perhaps it’s a day meant for family, one meant to remember lost loved ones or one to celebrate patriotic pride and national heritage. Whatever the holiday is, start out with the reason your customers celebrate in mind. If celebrating religious holidays doesn’t mix with your brand, celebrate bringing family together without alienating the customers celebrating for religious reasons. Don’t make the same mistake Verizon did when they called Thanksgiving ‘Thanksgetting’ and turn customers away by ignoring what the holiday was actually meant for in the first place.
Brainstorm ways to connect products or services with the holiday.
With the meaning of the holiday in mind, start brainstorming ways to connect the holiday to your products or services. Gifting holidays are easier to connect, while others may be trickier to come up with ideas for, but that doesn’t mean those holidays are impossible to create promotions for. A business that doesn’t sell Halloween costumes could invite trick or treaters on Halloween and hand out candy and coupons too, or perhaps offer a small free “treat” with every purchase. Photographers could celebrate the Back to School Season by offering a student special, or celebrate smaller holidays with mini sessions with props themed around that special day.
Schedule social media posts and other promotions.
Once you’ve decided on a way to tie your product with the holiday, use that connection in marketing. If you don’t tell anyone that you’re giving out lollies and coupons for Trick or Treating, how can you expect anyone to show up? Schedule social media posts and email campaigns, as well as exploring traditional print or broadcast marketing avenues. A holiday special doesn’t do much good if no one knows about it. It’s also a good idea to set up a social media post unrelated to the sales, just wishing your customers a happy holiday.
Don’t forget gift cards.
Some service oriented businesses find it harder to participating in the gifting holidays — but with gift cards, these businesses can use holiday seasons to promote their business too. Photographers can create gift cards for family photo sessions for Mother’s Day. Gift cards at salons allow customers to give the gift of some pampering to loved ones. Once you decide to offer gift cards, be sure to promote them too.
Holidays can be both times to celebrate and times to grow your business. When your goal is just to make money, customers will see through that — but by tying the meaning of the celebration into your promotions, you can create specials for any holiday.