We’re betting you’re pretty busy right now.
Running a small business is no small feat, especially during the holidays. Putting together a holiday promotion for your small business might have fallen off your list or might not even be on the list.
But that’s OK. This year, we’ve got you covered with a few ideas that should get you going.
If you want to boost sales for the season, take a look at our last-minute holiday promotion ideas for small businesses.
1. Target past customers with a value-add offer or benefit
This is the time to take advantage of your email list (if you have one) or your social media following. Because we all know it’s easier and less expensive to sell to past customers than it is to get new ones.
Think of this as the “low-hanging fruit” idea to boost sales. After all, your past customers are already familiar with your company and will be more receptive to a good holiday offer from you.
The key word here is ‘good.’ Think free service upgrade with purchase, free gift or benefit with purchase, free gift with appointment, value-add bundle, or a discount deal.
To limit the expense, you can impose a minimum order amount (orders of $50 or more, for example) or limit it to the first 20 customers on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday or any other day.
2. Promote your bestsellers to new customers
Your top products or services are bestsellers for a reason, so why not promote them to new customers?
The holidays are a great time to offer deals on your bestselling items. We’re talking about a discount, trial offer, bundle offer, or free gift/service with purchase. If your current customers see it, that’s OK too. It could propel them to re-buy their favorite item.
The best part? Bestsellers are often mentioned in reviews. Share some of that customer love language from your reviews and show the 5 stars as well.
Ratings are valuable “social proof” and can help sway prospects to buy. Make good use of them in your offers.
We suggest using Facebook or Instagram ads to target new customers. You can even build a “lookalike” audience—an audience that has similar characteristics to your current fans or to people on your email list. Ask us how.
3. Sell gift cards online with easy tools
You might not have considered gift cards or thought they weren’t worth it for small business, but they’re a beloved gift option for many. So much so that 60% of consumers say they buy them.
You can announce them as a new option or do as many restaurants do and offer a free bonus gift card ($5 to $10) with the purchase of another.
So how do you create one? The good news is they can be digital, making them easy to sell online. You don’t even need a website.
These tools offer options to create a sales page or landing page online.
- Constant Contact Shoppable Landing Pages – This email marketing program also offers templates to create a web page for online sales of 1-3 items with PayPal payment processing. Starts at $9.99/month.
- Mailer Lite Landing Pages – Another email marketing service with templates for landing pages that can include Stripe integration. Starts at $10/month.
- Stan’s Store (Mobile Sales Pages) – A simplified web page used by many online creators for sales through mobile and social media. Includes payment processing for $29/month and has a 14-day trial.
Check with your payment processor for gift card options as well. Stripe, for example, has a digital gift card addon for customers.
Need artwork?
Add a little holiday flair to your holiday promotion graphics with Canva. It’s a favorite of marketers and has thousands of templates that can be customized. Best of all, it’s free. (Some premium images or templates cost extra, but there are plenty of free options.)
Here are a few holiday graphics available on Canva. You can add your logo, change the colors, headings, text or images and you’ll have a professional-looking visual.
See Canva’s templates for Black Friday.
See Canva’s templates for holiday sales.
We hope these ideas will help you create your own promotion for a sales boost this season. Feel free to tag us, @simplificationservices, on your offers on social media and we’ll be sure to give them some love!
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