*This post is contributed by Beth Jones
As we approach the busiest time of year for many businesses, I thought I would give you some last-minute tips to ensure you make as many sales as possible. It’s an important time of year – some retailers make half their annual takings during November and December. So, read on to make sure you won’t miss out with these creative marketing tips to ensure more sales this holiday season.
Create a gift guide
Gift guides go down a treat with the general public – and the closer we get to the big day, the more people use them. You could create a blog post or specific pages for your website about the perfects gifts for techie moms, sporty dads, or teenage kids. Include links or discount codes to make sure that when your visitors decide to buy, they do it through your website, or visit your store.
Use perfect partners
People struggle enough with finding gifts for their loved ones, so why not make it easier for them? For example, let’s say you have a grandma on the search for the latest games console for their grandkids. The chances are they know little about the latest games, so any help that you can give them will go down a treat. Bundles work because they make it easier and more cost-effective for the consumer. So, whatever your best selling products are, think about what would make a perfect partner for them.
Contact old customers
If you have a list of clients, make sure that you use it! Whether you send out an email blast or business holiday ecards is up to you, but make sure you get in contact. Not only will they get a reminder that you are around, but you also get the opportunity to steer them away from a rival. You could include some promotional material in there, too, to ensure they come into your store, or place an order online.
Choose a loss leader
If there is something that sells well, consider cutting the price to make even more sales. It will drive people to your store or to your website, and while they are there, they will often buy something else. There is a risk, of course, but when you consider how successfully the likes of Walmart use loss leaders, it’s clear that it works. Don’t forget, over the Christmas period, shoppers like to have as comfortable a life as possible. They will often buy more than one product from a store if it means they don’t have to go elsewhere.
Run a charity campaign
Christmas is a time for giving, of course, and people are in charitable moods. Why not use that to your advantage by promising that a percentage of all your sales goes to a worthy cause? It’s a great way of raising your profile, and it will attract people to your store who like to think they are giving something back.
As you can see, there are plenty of ways to make sure your sales go well this holiday season. Good luck – and enjoy your break when it eventually arrives!
