Marketing Ideas to boost sales this Yuletide as a small business
Many folks begin their Christmas shopping before December because they somewhat believe that prices would increase in December, which is why your marketing should have been finalised by now before buyers finish making buying decisions.
These ideas need little or no special skills to execute but will improve engagement with your business and drive sales up by a good percentage when executed properly.
To kick-off:
You can start your campaign just immediately after black Friday.
This is mostly where holiday shopping decisions start from because people plan for Christmas shopping after Black Friday shopping sprees.
Some companies are known to go as far as special Christmas packaging. If you afford such extras to boost sales; you can add that to your catalog for packages items.
Update your website with offers
The perfect time to start is now. Get your web designer to add Christmas sale notifications or pop-ups to your website or better still let it breathe the Christmas spirit.
Retarget your customers
Customers who have interacted with your products can be retargeted by upselling other products in similar categories which customers may not have considered with a flash sale. (one-time discount offer).
Collaborate
2020 is the year for collaborations, and you can consider integrating with other services, either horizontal or vertical. For instance, if you sell hair creams, consider offering a special December combo with a hairstylist. This brilliant idea allows you to access new business prospects and add on sales.
Work with non-governmental organizations
Partner towards a cause this Christmas no matter how small to spread the message of love by putting up donation boxes. In this instance for every X amount of dollars or naira spent another Y amount goes to a particular charity during Christmas.
Employ email marketing
If you offer physical products, you can drive sales up by offering exclusive discounts to your email list through “flash sales” – one time offer.
Use your social media to create the spirit of Christmas
It’s not only smart but a great way to give special attention to your business followers. Update your profile picture with a Christmas spirit, change your cover photos, icons if possible. Some can be done by yourself on Canva.
Offer Free Shipping
Although this may be hardcore considering the cost of logistics to your business, however, you can tie it down to certain amounts of purchases. For instance, those who buy within a window of 16th – 24th of December and spend an average of N10,000 can get free shipping to anywhere within the city zone.
Christmas competitions on social media
You want to encourage your followers to do something fun like sharing a video of them singing their favorite songs and rewarding top contestants with Christmas shopping vouchers valued at X amount. Once you spend up to a certain Y amount, also you can redeem that X amount because remember your return on investment is also as important.
Bundle products together
Check your catalogs for your most popular products and bundle them together with other top sellers, i.e. product compliments in your business. This can also boost sales.
At the very core clients, prospects or customers are emotional buyers at their core. They decide to buy from us because they trust our brand and know that it can deliver on its promises which is why “showing care this yuletide” will increase engagement and patronage.
Most customers this year have probably gone through their toughest times, they need to know that your small business cares for them and that you not all about the money.
Lastly, put all these strategies together and combine them with your marketing mix for maximum effect and improved sales.
Also, ensure that you are not just cutting and giving away deals with calculation your conversion rates which can vary from subscriptions to purchases.
