Top 10 Ways to Promote Your Small Business During the Holidays

Article written by EricBank

The holiday spirit puts people in a buying mood. Don't let your small business miss out on its fair share of Christmas cheer. Here are 10 tips for attracting customers and stimulating sales. Don't forget, most of these are tax-deductible -- consult with your tax preparer for all the details.

1.     Say it with music. You can turn just about any business into a festive venue by hiring a few musicians and/or singers. Christmas carols really set the mood, and live music attracts new potential customers. Couple this with some holiday decorating and promote the event on social media.

2.     Shopper guidance. Join your fellow business owners and put together a holiday buying guide featuring local merchants. Include special sale announcements and feed the information to local media and bloggers.

3.     Holiday hoopla. Set up Christmas-themed grab bags, contests, lotteries and other giveaways to attract visitors and reward them for their patronage. If you are a service company, offer a holiday tie-in, such as a free decorating or free tickets to the latest Christmas movie.

4.     Holiday cards. Don't forget to send out holiday cards. Use your customer database to dispatch cards for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, New Year's or Festivus. If you have the time, pen a thoughtful, personal note that lets your customers know you're thinking of them this holiday season.

5.     Promote a holiday-appropriate charity. The poor, hungry and homeless -- humans and animals -- need help in the cold winter weather. Hospitalized children need toys, and our fighting forces overseas need CARE packages. Adopt a charity and aggressively promote your interest in it.

6.     Special customer loyalty offers. Say "Merry Christmas" to your best customers by offering them special deals on gifts and other holiday paraphernalia. Make them understand that the deals are exclusively for your longtime customers as a thank you for their business.

7.     Sales spectacles. Team up with your neighboring businesses for sales spectaculars. For example, the business on your block can set up sidewalk sales, festooned with balloons and maybe Santa himself. Bring in some petting animals and you'll be a hit with young kids and their parents. Let your imagination run wild and you'll be surprised at how many good ideas you can develop.

8.     Put out food. NOTHING attracts customers like free snacks. Sure, it might be a little costly, put almost invariably you are repaid with ramped-up sales. Do everyone a favor and gear your offerings toward healthy holiday foods like fruits, nuts and wholesome eggnog. If you live in an area that favors vegan or ethnic foods, stock up on delights that you know will be appreciated.

9.     Promote New Year's resolutions. Help your customer's improve their lives by tying-in a promotion to offer free fitness training, business consulting or other useful services.

10.  Holiday gift cards are a great promotion. Sell them at a slight discount to encourage sales. You win twice --- the sale of the cards and possible incremental sales made to the recipients when they come in to redeem the cards.

How is your small business celebrating the holidays? We'd love to hear from you! 

Leave us a note and let us and our readers know what you're up to. 

Happy Holidays from all of us at Small Business Financials!