New Ideas for Small Business Christmas Marketing

2 seconds after Halloween, it seems that all the retail stores put up their Christmas decorations, trying to capture as much of the Christmas market as possible. Typical ways that retail stores use to capitalize on the holidays include extended hours and sales. All this is fine. Today I want to give you an early gift by giving you some novel ways to think about holiday promotions.

Many people are fed up with the Christmas crowds, which is reflected in the growth of online sales and the decline in sales of some traditional retailers. There also seems to be a tendency to buy fewer gifts, but those gifts tend to be higher-priced luxury items.

In the kind of marketing that we should all do, we start with the customer in mind. What do we know about people at this time of year?

– Time is a convenience: there is much to do and very little time. – People have to do more shopping than they usually do. – People are subjected to a great deal of stress. – People tend to clean and decorate their houses.

These are just a few of the factors that affect people during the Christmas season. Surely you can think of many more. Take these things into consideration and take the position of being a giver.

Here’s an idea I’ve never seen before (so I want credit if you use it). If you own a store, offer free wrapping paper, nothing new there. While people are wrapping their gifts, do they get a free chair massage? You can partner with a local spa or even a massage school who could also give each customer a promotional coupon. You save your clients time, relieve stress, and create a fusion marketing partnership with the spa.

If you are in a home services business, offer to do additional winterizing services for your clients to save them time. Offer a free vacation home cleaning. If you’re not in the cleaning business, re-team with a cleaning service.

The gifts are great. Give free Christmas trees; Depending on where you are, you can buy a couple hundred for $ 10 a piece. The deal could be: spend $ 100 and take home a tree for free. Give away turkeys or whole turkey dinners – many grocery stores have this promotion.

Everyone gives away calendars, points to something different but useful. How about ice scrapers if you live in the north? Blankets, sweatshirts, hats – these are good promotional items when the weather turns cold.

Holiday cards are great. People like to receive and display them. Hardly anyone sends Thanksgiving cards, definitely consider it. In this politically correct age (gasp) you have to be sensitive to people’s religious sensibilities. Send Happy Holidays cards and not Merry Christmas cards, unless you are absolutely sure your customer is celebrating Christmas.

If you have any type of retail business, consider additional gifts that could be used as a second gift. A florist may include a free gift wrapped ornament with a certain purchase level that can be shipped to a different address. Two gifts for the price of one. Buy One Get One Free deals are great for the holidays.

Get creative this holiday season and think about how you can solve your customers’ problems.

Copyright 2005 Marketing Comet

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