If you are a small business owner or a marketing team of one, you may be concerned about COVID-19 Pandemic that will ruin your holiday season sales.
How are you supposed to end the year strong when many people are still unsure whether they want to leave their homes and shop en masse?
The answer: You will learn how to develop your sales and marketing strategies for the holidays.
Despite another wave of cases, consumers are approaching the vacation business as usual. An amazing 82% of consumers say they would pay more to shop safely locally, and that's just the beginning. So there are still plenty of ways to make sales online and sell in store pickups.
Check out this guide for more shopping stats for 2020, as well as the 10 best strategies to increase sales during this unprecedented holiday season
These 10 tips will help you grow sales so you can end the year strong. They can even help you make up for sluggish quarters at the beginning of the year.
All you have to do is follow this game plan:
In-store purchases won't go away entirely this year, although they may look a little different. According to the latest data:
So if your small business has a local business, these statistics offer some hope. You can continue to track in-person sales as long as you keep customers updated on your shopping experience to keep everyone safe.
There are a few quick ways to do this:
With so many brands, it is crucial that you take special care of your customers. Because of this, many brands create loyalty programs.
Providing customers with special promotional / discount codes, coupons, and free products with every purchase gives them incentives to choose your company over your competitors.
However, you can't just send a vacation-themed promo code to your email list and call them for a day. Your loyalty program needs to be easy for customers to earn in order to earn points that are relevant and rewarding for what they are already buying. [ * .
One company that checks these boxes on customers (and more!) Is the non-toxic makeup brand Thrive Causemetics . In addition to giving customers a free makeup bag and points for every dollar spent with every purchase, they also host a special promotional event called "12 Days of Gifting".
With this, the company offers its customers a new free product (or two) every day, similar to an advent calendar or several days of Hanukkah gifts:
Customers can check in every day to see what new products are up for grabs. They feel valued and are given the chance to try new products that they may not have bought otherwise.
Therefore, consider creating a loyalty program this season or expanding the benefits of your existing one. You increase sales, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty at the same time.
By adding reviews, testimonials, and other User Generated Content (UGC) to your website and product pages, the risk of purchase for online shoppers and those who cannot shop in person will be reduced. In fact, customers are 71% more comfortable to make an online purchase after reading a few reviews.
This kind of social proof will show that your business is selling high quality products that people already love, making new customers more eager and comfortable.
This is how popular the brand for women's clothing is LuLu does this well:
On their product pages (see image above), LuLu clearly shows a five-star rating system under each item.
The company then takes the customer review process a step further by adding user-submitted photos, so customers can see what real customers look like wearing the product before they buy it:
As shoppers scroll down, they can read the reviews in more detail, including helpful information on how products fit based on each customer's measurements and size.
Buyers have no idea how an item fits their body when they can see photos of the products of real customers with similar measurements. This will reduce your risk and give you more confidence to add the item to your shopping cart.
So consider embedding user-generated content like this on your home page, on product pages, and anywhere else that may be relevant. Start with simple papers and testimonials, and then gradually work your way up to everything Lulu is doing here.
Savvy marketers know that giveaways are a great way to drive impressions to your website and your potential customer base enlarge. So why not throw one or two around this Christmas season?
You can gift your products on sites like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn based on where your customers are. Or, you can host more than one giveaway to really increase brand awareness and engagement.
This is exactly what the baby bottle brand Nanobebe did.
The company has teamed up with other brands in two separate giveaways in order to increase their awareness and customer base by developing different established target groups:
While you don't have to work with other brands to take advantage of these benefits, you deserve the added benefit of casting a wider net.
However, hosting a giveaway on your own social pages can still help attract new customers to your website. Depending on who wins, existing customers may also be rewarded.
Give regardless of d he giveaway route will post relevant hashtags so people can find your brand as they search.
Since online shopping will be on the rise this year (thanks again Covid!), Do it don't hurt to spice up your website with some festive holiday cheer.
A complete overhaul of your homepage can make people feel like they are shopping in a winter wonderland. It can also create the same warm and fuzzy mood in personal shopping that can boost last minute sales.
Streaming workout brand based in NY P.volve gave everything with its homepage and its punctual holiday theme:
While P.volve excites online, you don't have to get fancy here if you have the time, the resources or lack the budget for it. Just add a few fun pops of holiday color and simple seasonal news to evoke that happy spirit.
Affordable jewelry brand Blush & Bar knows this only too well, the company added a cute gift with their logo and a holiday banner to their homepage:
The brand even introduced some light-hearted features, such as a fun quiz that customers can use to find their perfect jewelry can and A vacation bonus game to put hectic shoppers in the buying mood.
By using these two brands as a guide, you can capture that holiday cheer and increase sales. Bonus: You can get this job done in a productive afternoon.
Wrapping up holiday packages for your best-selling products is one of the best creative ideas brands can implement this season. And it works well for several reasons:
First, these packs help your business showcase its best-selling items, which is especially useful for buyers who are unfamiliar with your range of products.
Second, these pre-made bundles remove the guesswork for consumers looking for receivers that are hard to buy. They are an attractive gift full of highly rated products that you are sure to like.
You can also give buyers the opportunity to get an excellent offer by buying a cheap package instead of each item individually. Then you can use this offer to advertise the score of the savings shoppers who may push them to grab the bundles before they're gone.
Tea brand Pique has an ode to tea Vacation package with eight kinds of tea crystals in a box on the theme of vacation. This bundle can also be used twice as the box can be converted into a tea box which fifteen can use all year round:
Premium Australian accessories brand Bellroy also offers Christmas gift sets that save money and deliver their best-selling products in one:
So consider packing vacation packages like this for your customers. You might even want to offer one or two for your social media giveaways (tip 4) to add to the excitement about them.
Another smart tip, especially during the holidays, is to show that it is your brand It is important to give something back to relevant causes and people in need.
According to the latest research, 58% of young consumers are more likely to buy brands that support a good cause – but only if they know about it !
If your small business is – and should be – a nonprofit, let your customers know on your website and on social media. There are subtle ways you can prove that your brand cares about others, not just profit.
Affordable stroller company Mockingbird made this clear on their # GivingTuesday post. They shared how they partnered with Baby2Baby to deliver over 100 strollers to families in need:
So think about how your small business can give something back this season. Then don't be afraid to share your efforts. Make it clear to customers why and how you chose to help and they will be more likely to support your business.
This year saw a seismic shift towards ecommerce due to limited options in the store. In fact, 58% of consumers expect most of their vacation purchases to be made through e-commerce websites.
This also applies to your digital storefront ready for the challenge? Can it handle an influx of online payments and customer inquiries? Does it provide customers with a simple, fun, and hassle-free experience?
If you can't objectively evaluate your ecommerce store, recruit your friends, family, and coworkers for honesty feedback. Ask them how your current online experience could be improved and reward them for their time with a discount code.
By updating your digital storefront, your brand will have better sales opportunities and create happy customers for life. If you follow all of the tips in this guide, you definitely need to prepare for higher website traffic and sales. Make this tip a priority along with the next.
If you can, it is wise to invest in your customer service experience so that you can ensure that hiccups are immediate rather than affecting the buyer's experience.
This may include adding or updating your live chat features, chatbots on your website, email replies and response times. You may also want to consider a commercial telephone system that will be able to handle the increased workload.
While this may seem like an additional cost, this short vacation period can mean the difference between reaching your annual sales targets or falling short. You don't want a simple customer service problem to unknowingly drive customers away.
In addition, customers can be particularly stressed during this time, so additional support for them will only help your brand. Remember, it's almost impossible to recover from a bad customer experience, but perfect experiences lead to lifelong buyers.
Most brands don't take the time to send customers thank you notes, especially during the busy holiday season. Because of this, it is one of the most effective strategies for making your business stand out.
Consider sending personalized thank you notes to your most loyal customers or your newest customers. Add a handwritten note on one side to show how much you appreciate them. Use the back for an attractive picture or piece of art that you can hang up later.
This card creates a lasting memory and reminds customers why they chose your brand in the first place. When they display your card, keep an eye on your brand year round. When it is time for them to make another purchase, your small business will be number one on their list.
This year has been tough for everyone, but that doesn't mean your company can't finish with a high grade.
Today more than ever, consumers want to support small businesses by shopping online and in-store whenever possible. But it's up to you to make this experience worthwhile for them.
Fortunately, the 10 tips in this guide will help you do this and more.
Even if you can only implement a handful of the strategies discussed today, your small business is in a much better position for making Christmas sales. And maybe you can win loyal customers for life by simply looking after them during this difficult time.
Follow these strategies and you will find that your hard work pays dividends.
Do you know of any other small business that could benefit from these tips? Make the gift of more year-end sales by sharing this guide with them!
Image: Depositphotos
