The 6 Best Ways To Market Your Businesses During The Winter Holidays

The winter holiday season is upon us! For many small businesses, this time of year has the opportunity to dramatically boost their revenue. Still, holiday marketing can be competitive.

But don’t get discouraged – there are always ways you can attract new customers and delight your existing ones.

Keep these 6 holiday marketing tips in mind to make sure this year’s winter holiday season is a successful one for your business!

1 – Take Time To Plan

The holiday season can feel hectic as we all scramble to buy gifts, clean our houses to impress family members, juggle employee vacations, and try to squeeze in hundreds of other activities.

Before you dive headlong into the winter holidays, do your business a favor and make a plan.

Decide what your business goals are for the coming months. Do you want a percentage bump in revenue?

Are you trying to sell out of a specific item? Do you need your restaurant packed full of reservations in December and January?

Whatever your business goals are, clearly articulate them and consider how you can accomplish them this holiday season.

Ask Yourself

• What type of discounts do you want to offer?
  • Do you want to provide digital coupon codes, door-buster deals, or short-term seasonal promotions for specific items?
• Which winter holidays do your existing customers usually celebrate?
  • Can you offer specific discounts that will appeal to them and attract new customers at the same time?

2 – Keep It Simple

Your customers and potential customers are constantly being hit with seasonal advertising this time of year.

The best way to stand out from the noise is by being simple and direct with your marketing efforts.

The best holiday advertising campaigns revolve around one central idea rather than a more diverse approach.

Since the winter holiday season is short, it’s better to rely on marketing techniques that have been proven to be effective for your business.

For Example

If email marketing has been working well this year for your company, keep that momentum going! Try getting a little creative and share the holiday spirit with your email list in a new way. 

This is the perfect time to give your existing customers an extra incentive to buy your product, schedule a service you provide, or make sure they stop in and visit your store or restaurant.

3 – Give A Gift

Everyone is buying gifts for family members, friends, and co-workers this time of year. This presents you with a fantastic opportunity to remind your customers to take care of themselves too. 

By offering a free gift with their purchase, you encourage a positive view of your business and show your customers that you’re here to celebrate the season with them.

Free Gift Ideas

• Free shipping with any purchase (for online retailers)
• 25% off a future purchase or service order (be sure to include an expiration date)
• Free $25 gift card for every $100 in gift cards purchased
• Free gift wrapping with any purchase
• Donate a percentage of each sale to a local charitable organization

4 – Stay Active On Social Media

If you aren’t sure how to manage your social media presence, you can get started by reading this blog post! Try to post frequently on your social media channels during the holidays and keep the content you share fresh and fun.

This is a great time to offer incentives and giveaways to your audience. Giving small percentage discount codes as a reward for sharing your content and sales announcements can increase your social media audience and gain new customers.

If you have a brick-and-mortar store or restaurant, share photos of how your space is decorated for the holidays and invite your audience to visit and enjoy the seasonal decor.

Create a simple “photo booth wall” to encourage customers to take selfies and tag your store on their social media channels.

Consider having holiday photo content with a giveaway on Instagram where shoppers can not only tag your store in their selfies.

5 – Prioritize Customer Loyalty

It can be easy to forget your existing customers when you consider holiday marketing. Many companies miss the mark by only trying to attract new customers instead of making sure their current shoppers feel appreciated and motivated to keep shopping with them.

Repeat customers are vital for your business’s continued success and the winter holiday season is the perfect time to make them feel special. You can do this by sending your current customers a valuable discount, a free product, or handwritten holiday cards.

If you have customers who have shopped with you last year and haven’t made a purchase yet this year, now is the best time to send them a promotion or gift to tempt them to buy from you again before the end of the year.

No matter how you choose to let your customers know you appreciate them, make sure it’s personal and full of holiday spirit!

6 – Partner With Other Local Businesses

With “Small Business Saturday” coming right after Thanksgiving and Black Friday, this time of year presents an opportunity to partner with other local businesses in your area. Everyone benefits when more of our community shops locally instead of at big box chain retailers.

Consider working together with other local shops and restaurants in your area to promote each other’s sales and services.

You can do this by handing out coupons or sales information during checkout. Or you could offer a discount when your customers also shop at your neighboring businesses.

The winter holidays are a great way to bring in new customers and grow your business, so make sure you’re ready to make the most of the season!

This blog post was originally published in November 2019 and has been updated to include the latest information and most relevant tips.