With many buyers hoping to shop small this holiday season, is your small business ready?
How did it get to be November already? And you know what that means – holidays!
While you personally may not want to even think about Thanksgiving, for small businesses, the holidays have already arrived. While every season is important, for many small companies, the holiday season can represent half their annual sales. So, there’s no time to lose.
It’s time to start holiday shopping: These are the products likely to sell out this year
Sell more in brick-and-mortar retail
Want to make more money from each customer? Think “bundles.”
Holiday deals: Shop this season’s top products and sales curated by our editors.
After all, why sell just one book when you can offer a “Jane Austen” bundle with a few books (and maybe tea and a teacup) preselected and pre-wrapped? If you get creative and sell a number of related products together, you’ll hear your cash register go cha-ching.
One advantage of selling a “bundle” is obvious: you make more money on each sale. But another advantage is that you have now created a product that is less likely to be available online.
And customers love bundles. After all, they solve a customer’s gift-giving dilemmas, especially if you:
- Provide bundles that have a theme – “for him,” “for her,” “for your pet,” “for your best customer”
- Pre-wrap bundles, ready to go
- ·Create bundles at different price points
Partner up: Increase your holiday impact – and stretch your dollars by partnering with other local businesses this season. You can do joint promotions, package products and local services together, and even team up for a holiday party.
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Make your space inviting and entertaining: For most people, shopping is also a form of entertainment – not just a necessity. So make your establishment as festive and engaging as possible. Play holiday music and, perhaps, have apple cider available.
Participate in Small Business Saturday. The Saturday after Thanksgiving has become an annual day to highlight local small companies and many communities sponsor events around the day. If yours does, be sure to be part of it.
Sell more online
E-commerce stores, too, depend on good holiday sales. Driving customers to your site and then getting them to buy takes marketing, merchandising, customer service, and even holiday “decorations.”
Send special holiday emails. Sure, you hate getting all that email, but email helps to keep your name in front of customers. Let your customers know about:
- Special holiday discounts
- New products or services for the holidays
- Special holiday services, like free gift wrapping or expedited service
- News and tips they’ll find useful
Post on social media. And do the same thing on your social media channels, if you have them. Make it easy for customers to buy featured products by providing links to product pages in your emails and social media posts.
“Merchandise” your products. Yes, even online sellers have to “merchandise” their wares by figuring out inviting ways to promote your products. Arrange your virtual “store windows” to sell more:
“Decorate” your website for the holidays
Create special holiday landing pages
Create preselected bundles “for him,” “for her,” “for the golf lover”
Update your website’s search engine optimization
Add share buttons to products so customers can post gifts they desire on their social media pages and market for you
Sell more services
The holidays aren’t just a big time for small retail businesses; they’re critical for small service businesses as well. Hey, the day after Thanksgiving is the biggest day of the year for plumbers!
Businesses in hospitality and personal services often see a boom this time of year. So step up your marketing now if you want to enter 2023 with more money in your bank account.
Offer discounts to redeem during the slower months of January and February
Sell gift certificates!
Promote, promote, promote – emails, social media, ads, direct mail
Hold a holiday event
Offer a Buy One/Get One promo
Offer a “get ready for the holidays” promotion
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