With the Christmas holidays in full swing, businesses everywhere are taking advantage of the less inhibited spending habits of customers. Customers are more likely to make impulse buys or to tack on some extras during the holidays. Of course, your business might not be seeing much of a boost in sales during the holidays, which leaves the question: how do you increase sales during Christmas? The impact of the holidays on your business will depend on what industry you’re in (retail, of course, skyrockets, but try running a surf shop on the East coast during the winter!), so you need to be keenly aware and properly prepared. If the holidays are slow for you, check out these 12 holiday themed marketing ideas for your business.

Personal and Social Marketing Tactics

Customers like to feel that they’re purchasing from a company that does good deeds or that supports other businesses. This community sentiment is especially strong during the holidays.

Small Business Saturday

Small Business Saturday is held the Saturday following Thanksgiving (and thus, the day following Black Friday and the weekend proceeding Cyber Monday). It’s a day where customers are encouraged to shop at local and small businesses near them. You can utilize this holiday to get exposure, trend on Twitter, and talk with organizers to see if there are any events planned that you can join.

Team Up with Other Businesses

Many local businesses depend on each other as much as they depend on customers. Some small delis and restaurants may go to local farmers for their supplies, or home décor and craft stores may take in products made by nearby shops. If you particularly admire a neighboring business, you can team up together to offer a unique deal to both of your locations or organize an event between the two of you. This will double the amount of eyes on both of you and can drive up sales and customer visits.

Charity Work

Similar to teaming up with other businesses, you can participate in charities and fundraisers to give back to the community. Some businesses donate a certain percentage of sales to foundations during the holidays, and letting customers know where their money is going can encourage them to continue to support you. You can also make it a point to advertise the charities to spread the word to your customers.

Personalized Gifts

If you have a loyal customer base, you can thank them in small ways. A free yet thoughtful option is to send a holiday email thanking them for their loyalty and for all the time they’ve spent coming to your store. You can send postcards, as well, although this is more time consuming. You can also include a small gift with each purchase made. Remember that customers like to feel appreciated, and gifts are a great way to market your business – clients will feel special and will be more likely to return if you showcase generosity and gratitude.

On-Location Marketing Strategies

When people visit your store, they should be instilled with the holiday spirit – or at least be driven to act and make a purchase. Targeting physical shoppers can be a huge success if done properly.

Gift Sets and Gift Cards

You can bundle items together as a gift set to entice customers to purchase them together, or advertise the items as the perfect gift for a loved one or friend. These kinds of package deals are good ways to keep sales up and to ensure that you’re not left with excess product at the end of the year. It would also be in your favor to offer gift-wrapping services or personalized messages on some products; this can make your customers appreciate the transaction more – and they won’t have to potentially hide a present at home!

Additionally, you should always have gift cards ready to go. Many customers know that a friend or loved one shops at your store but don’t know what specifically to get, so they’ll opt for a gift card. This lets the recipient get anything they wish.

Holiday Themed Items

You can contribute to the spirit of the holidays by creating themes for your items. This will make them more memorable and have them stand out more to customers. For example, if you run a bakery, your baked goods can feature different Christmas images, or you can offer special or limited mint items.

Deck Out Your Store

Stores that never change appearance can become drab to look at, especially if surrounding locations are fully engaged in the holiday spirit. A lack of decorations and festivities may turn customers away. If you don’t have the space for a Christmas tree or any standing decorations, consider window art, hanging baubles, and more. If you own a small convenience store, you could hang mistletoe above the candy section where you sell Hershey Kisses or place a snowman decal on the icebox.

Stocking Stuffers

Stocking stuffers are small gifts that can be placed stockings, like candy, trinkets, stickers, mirror ornaments, and more. These items aren’t always purchased specifically as a main gift, so it helps to keep them in locations where customers may pick them up because they think they’ll be a nice addition. You can place them near other popular items in your store, near registers, or in a section specially marked as stocking stuffers.

Digital Marketing Strategies

You can utilize a number of digital marketing options and strategies to help boost sales during the holidays. There are a number of tactics that can help you.

Sense of Urgency in Advertisements

Your digital advertisements should show off popular items, gifts, and other deals, but you can make sure that a sale happens if you create a sense of urgency. Place the time left on a limited deal directly in the headline of the advertisement or send an email that informs the customer that time is running out. You can also remind them how much time is left until Christmas in a countdown.

Holiday Themed Newsletters and Updates

In addition to your normal advertisements, you can send out email blasts, newsletters, push notifications, and more, but do so with a holiday theme behind them. You can hire a designer to create the newsletter and make it look attractive and wintery, for instance.

Customers appreciate when there are special twists and changes made to emails or newsletters. It shows that the company is doing more than merely sending out the same template year-round.

Advertise Seasonal or Themed Products

Use your digital outreach, social media, and ads to highlight the holiday-themed products you have in store. You can show off items that go fast or have a limited shelf life, or let people know what kind of holiday deals you’ll have waiting for them. It might be beneficial to digitally advertise deals that have stipulations, like only by going into the store or only by providing a discount code found in the unique email.

Offer Free Shipping

If you’re selling anything online during the holidays, you can win a lot of customers over with free shipping. Many companies have deals where customers have to make a purchase of a certain amount before they become eligible for free shipping. If you bypass that requirement, you can interest more customers.

Keeping Sales Up Year Round

If you want to learn more about how to keep sales up around the year, contact Promotion LA. We’ll give you a consultation and tell you what your business may be lacking. If you’d like to start working with us on growing your business, we’d be happy to speak with you. Promotion LA has an extensive portfolio and a number of clients in various industries – we have no doubt that we’ll be the right fit for you. Contact us today for more assistance in digital marketing or other services.