A Holiday Checklist for Seasonal Business Success

As a small business owner, creativity plays an important role in inspiring your customers and expanding your audience. The holidays are a great time to reach new clients through promotions, giveaways, local participation and good old-fashioned cheer. Take this opportunity to dig into the season and showcase your products and services. Here are some tips to help you get started.

Update Your Logo

Getting noticed by more people is a goal for your business. If you have been thinking of updating your website and logo, now is a good time before initiating a holiday marketing campaign. Your logo often determines a customer’s first impression, so make it a good one. Building awareness and setting yourself apart from the competition is important for improving brand recognition and growth. Consider an online logo maker for a new, creative design that tells your story. You can select a style, icon, font and various colors to make it your own and add text that identifies who you are and what you do. With a fresh new look, you are ready to put your holiday advertising campaign into action.

Plan Your Holiday Events

Be active in the season to enlist new customers. Decorate your storefront with lights in the window and a seasonal scene that includes your products for gift-giving ideas. If you have speakers outside, play music to inspire shoppers to come inside. Select a day or evening to host an open house to showcase your business and serve fresh coffee, hot chocolate and cookies. If you sell edible products, provide samples or hold a drawing to give away products or services. It is reported that over 70% of people indicate they will buy a product after sampling it first.

Giving back to the community helps you to build brand recognition, reach new customers and garner free publicity. Research shows that 88% of consumers will support businesses that focus on more than simply making money. Even if you give back throughout the year, promote a special event by offering to donate a percentage of proceeds from every purchase to a particular cause or local organization. 

Also, don’t forget to advertise your promotions, sales and activities on your website and social media platforms. You may need to adjust your format depending on the platform. Do you need to convert doc to PDF? Use a free converter (consider this option), and then send out your PDF via email or make it downloadable through your website.

Capture Last-Minute Shoppers

During the final shopping days of the year, grab shoppers' attention by promoting expedited shipping or a deep discount day that is not Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Go big on Small Business Saturday and then create your own day where you can offer one more big sale before the season ends. Generate interest with a gift guide and post catchy slogans and gift ideas through social media on a consistent basis.

Consider extending your business hours and use that as a marketing post as well. Whenever you make changes to operating hours, ensure that your website, social media platforms and storefront are all consistent so you don't confuse or discourage potential customers.

Have fun in how you reach your audience, and be proactive in making this special time a memorable experience for your patrons. Engage in the season's festivities to expand your customer base, enhance your local community and set yourself up for seasonal success.