growing business tips Archives

‘Tis the season…for sales! We’re now smack in the middle of the time of year when your sales should be soaring, but if you’re a small business owner, you have to remember that Santa isn’t simply going to drop those extra sales down your chimney. You’re going to have to do some work for them! But boosting your holiday sales doesn’t have to be complicated: there are some simple, yet clever, things you can do to get your business noticed this holiday season, so you can make the most of the holiday season, and stay in the black well into the new year.

Get Creative This Holiday Season!

As we mentioned above, the holiday season should be the time of year that gets you into the black. In fact, the holiday sales season accounts for up to 30% of annual sales on average. So how can you capitalize on this? The best way is by seriously stepping up and focusing on your marketing efforts, of course! And notice we didn’t say by pouring money into your marketing – you can do this by getting creative and implementing some of the following ideas:

Don’t take a holiday from social media

Now is not the time to slow down on social media, much as you might feel like you’ve got other things on your mind. There’s no better – and cheaper – way to get out in front of, and engage with, your customers. In fact, 57.5% of people say they are more likely to buy from a brand they follow on social media.

And how can you dazzle customers a little more on social media specifically at this time of year? First of all, make sure you have a lot of well-planned and festive posts, especially since people are using their newsfeeds to get gift ideas during the holidays, making this time the perfect opportunity for you to boost brand awareness and promote your products/services. In addition, though, you should also consider offering a special holiday discount to customers who follow you – and you’ll have the added bonus of growing your network.

When engaging on social media during the holiday season, try:

Using festive hashtags

Making gift lists

Promoting special offers

Supporting/highlighting a charity

Posting giveaways and contests

Updating your images with festive photos of you, your team, your business, etc

Get involved in your community

Now is the time when a lot of communities are hosting holiday events, so check out what’s going on in your area and connect with organizers to see how your business can get involved. Getting your name on a program for a local event by sponsoring or helping out can work wonders in terms of growing an engaged customer base.

Focus on your strengths

With things getting holiday crazy, now is definitely not the time to try to work on your weaknesses (you can save that for your New Year’s resolution)! Instead, build on your strengths, using the 80/20 rule to focus on the 20% of the activities that give you 80% of your results. If that’s video marketing, double down on that; if it’s social media engagement, get posting, commenting, and replying; if it’s face-to-face meetings, get out there in front of your customers!

Feel the New Year’s vibe

You might be thinking that we’re already pretty well through a lot of the holiday season, but don’t forget to look ahead to the new year, when your customers will be feeling the burn of the post-holiday season. Leverage the desire for self-improvement that comes with this time of year and try to give your product or service a New Year’s resolution spin. Try promoting products or services that:

Are focused on organization or productivity
Enhance health, fitness & wellbeing
Help with decluttering & cleaning
Offer safety and protection

Get personal with your email marketing

Email marketing is always a good idea, and personalizing it to your customers is a must. But at this time of year, why not try sharing something more personal about you and your business? Tell a heart-warming story, or pick a “story of the year” about your business, and remember to make your customers feel like they’ve been a big part of your life (and don’t forget the call to action).

Be charitable

Charitable giving is certainly its own reward, but there’s no harm in leveraging your good deeds as a marketing tool. After all, you’ll be supporting a good cause, and your customers will see you in a very positive light – a win for both your business and the organizations you support. In fact, did you know that 56% of shoppers will travel an extra 10 minutes out of their way to purchase a product that supports a cause they care about, and 71% are even willing to pay more for that product? So get giving, and you might end up also receiving!

Promote gift cards

Whether you offer a product or a service, offering gift cards can make you a go-to business for frustrated shoppers looking for a gift for the loved one who already has everything. And you know what? 72% of customers will spend more than the value of their gift card, so it’s smart to offer and promote them, even if you don’t think of your business as one that would traditionally offer them!

Offer special deliveries

You might not be able to offer free shipping for your products all year round, but you might want to try offering it as something special for the holidays to help you stand out from the crowd. Or do you offer a service? Consider offering an upgraded hand delivery service of a gift certificate with a special treat (like a spa gift card hand-delivered with flowers), or offering your services done on-site. Remember, you might not be able to compete with the big guys when it comes to shipping costs or speed, but you can make up for it with personalized service!

Launch something new

Maybe December isn’t the time to launch a new product or service – you might be too busy – but consider planning for a launch in January, when the New Year’s vibe is strong. You can jump onto the whole “new year, new you” feeling and apply it to your business, so you can excite your customers!

Partner up

Sure, you can bust your butt competing with local businesses, but this time of year is all about love and togetherness, right? So try to find local businesses to partner with – you can offer a multi-business-wide discount or allow them to put out coupons in your store and vice versa. Especially at this time of year, customers will appreciate you and other local businesses supporting each other, and will feel good shopping with you!

Send a New Year’s greeting

When the new year arrives, don’t forget to send a personalized message – ideally a card – to your customers. This is a simple way to thank customers for their business and will help remind them of the importance of shopping locally. It will also help keep the momentum of the holiday season going into the new year!

No matter what holidays you and your customers celebrate, you can make your business stand out and feel more relatable and memorable by incorporating some clever marketing strategies at this time of year. Take a little extra time out of your hectic holiday schedule and try some of our ideas, so you won’t miss the opportunity presented at this time of year to really connect with your customers!

Co-written by Joanna Bowling

1. Examine Why You’re Growing

Ok, you’re excited. Business is booming! But you can’t assume that this influx of customers – and revenue – is going to last forever. You need to take a step back and really examine the reason for your growth. If you don’t, you risk collapsing after the rush.

Why is the risk of failure higher after a period of rapid growth? Because that growth not only means more revenue, but it also means more expenditure. The growth slows down, and you’re stuck with more expenses than you can support. Understanding why you’re suddenly getting so much more business is critical. Knowing this will help you to plan for how much of your product you should have on hand at any one period in time, what your staffing needs will be, as well as the most important thing: when the growth is likely to slow down.

2. Make Sure Your Customers Are Still Number One

Don’t be blinded by the dollar signs in front of your eyes! What’s the one, most indispensable thing that has gotten you to this point of rapid growth? Your customers! And that means the one thing you absolutely shouldn’t skimp on is customer service. After all, nobody likes being put on hold, shuffled around, or generally being put on the back burner, especially if your customers are used to a high level of service.

hand with the pointer finger pressing on the 5th star of a review.

To keep on top of what your customers are thinking, ask for their feedback with surveys, as well as on social media. Believe us, they won’t hold back in cyberspace! It’s best to be proactive when it comes to what you’re customers are saying on social media: remember, according to studies, 47% of people have used social media to complain about a business, 50% of customers will boycott a brand if they get a poor response to a complaint, and a whopping 92% of customers will call you out on your poor customer service. If you start to slack in the customer service department because of your rapid growth, you will most certainly pay the price.

You might also need to put more resources into your customer support team, which brings us to the following tip.

3. Figure Out What Your Staffing Needs Really Are

Has your rapid growth left you feeling short staffed and scrambling to stay on top of everything? It’s time to reassess your staffing needs and figure out what you really need. That can be tricky, since you don’t want to make the mistake of hiring too many people, because you could end up in trouble if your growth does level off. But not having enough staff could stall your growth or lead you into the trap of not being able to provide enough customer service.

What to do? First, critically assess your current staff and make sure that their responsibilities are being assigned in a way to meet the increasing workload. Next, consider hiring temps. Not only will this help to keep the cost of hiring down, but it will also give you a good feel for how big of a staff you’ll actually need as you settle into a more leveled off period of growth. Another option is to go with freelancers: they can do tedious work that can be done remotely, like data entry, while you and your permanent staff focus on the bigger picture.

4. Adaptability Is Key!

blocks that says old way with the word new on top of the word old

They say, you can’t grow if you don’t change. We would add to that, you can’t handle that growth if you don’t change. Even if you feel like your way of doing business has brought you to this stage of rapid growth, it would still be a mistake to keep doing things the same way you were before this rush hit. After all, that growth is changing your business, so you need to change with it!

It’s your job to make the big decisions, so step up and test out different strategies, accept new expenditures if need be, and inspire your team to innovate.

5. Look Outside of Your Business

Nobody does anything completely on their own. It’s ok to ask for help; after all, this is the first time you’re going through this! While we fully advocate for learning from your mistakes, you might not want to take the chance this time and at this critical juncture. Find a mentor who is an experienced entrepreneur, or look for a community of your peers to join. Getting advice from a wiser head or bouncing ideas off of people who have been there and done that can make all the difference.

It’s great that you’re growing so fast, and you should take pride in having brought your small business to this exciting stage. But this period of rapid growth can be full of pitfalls, so watch your step, and don’t lose your head. Be ready to make the big decisions, and we know you’ll come through this volatile period with a stronger business and a bright future.

Tag: growing business tips

How to Hit the Holidays Running: Unique Ideas to Market Your Business in the Festive Season