Holiday Marketing Tips
The holiday season can be incredibly overwhelming for small business owners, but this is also a great time to connect with customers and let them know you appreciate their business over the past year. Some of these ideas will require you to utilize your customer records or CRM to pull your customer contact information. Other ideas might be more applicable for smaller teams looking to engage with the local community.
Whatever you decide to do, do it purposefully. At all times of year, but especially during the holiday season, it is important to focus on relationships, build bridges, and extend good will to others.
1. Create a business holiday card.
Based on the type of business you own, these cards could be very traditional and include a general holiday greeting and possibly a group picture of your team or a wintry picture of the exterior of your office. If you feel comfortable, your business holiday card could be more creative. You could incorporate a crossword puzzle or word search, or include a small jigsaw puzzle. Whatever type of card you create, make sure to incorporate your brand colors and logo into the card.
2. Small branded gift for your customers.
For business owners who serve customers in person, a small branded gift is a great option this time of year. Depending on how many customers you have, this could be anything from a branded package of chocolates to a branded tumbler or a branded notepad. Choose a gift that is unique, relevant for your business, and useful for your customers. Stumped on what item to choose, ask a few of your best customers the next time you see them.
3. Hold an open house with holiday refreshments.
If you have a brick and mortar store, a holiday open house is a great opportunity to get people in the door! Your foot traffic can be improved for this type of event if you work with other business owners or your local chamber of commerce to coordinate a day for this type of event. Consider adding some decorations to your store and providing snacks and drinks for those who stop in. This type of event can require some promotion ahead of time, so make sure you are utilizing your email list and your social media platforms.
4. Serve your community.
Dedicating a whole day or a half-day for your entire team to serve the local community is a great way to boost team morale, get your team out into the community, and give back to others. If your business is related to housewares or building supplies, volunteering for Habitat for Humanity might be a great option. If your business is food or entertainment-related, consider volunteering with a local soup kitchen or helping serve a community holiday meal. No matter what industry you’re in, you can almost always find a related non-profit organization. This is one of my favorite ways to celebrate the holiday season because it offers a special way for employees to connect with each other and their fellow community members. To me, that’s what the holiday season is really about.
5. Offer a special 1-day discount code.
If you operate an online business, consider utilizing your email list to offer a one-time discount code. Of course, you can jump on the cyber Monday train or choose a random day when your business is usually slower for the code to go out. These types of codes are well-received if they aren’t sent out very frequently and if there are minimal restrictions to use them.
6. Utilize social media.
Invest in a Canva account to create all types of social media posts with branded colors and fonts for holidays throughout the year. Be professional, but have fun with your posts - ask questions, use emojis, and keep things relevant to your industry. Incorporate pictures and video from your business into these posts to give your customers and followers a peek into your business. Pictures of decorating your office for the holidays, inviting customers to a holiday open house, or sharing new holiday items on social media helps you establish relationships with customers and keeps you relevant with what is happening in everyday life.