The Small Business Guide To Holiday Sales and Promotions

The holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year for businesses of all industries. Whether your small business is in the industry of food, clothing, lodging, or luxury goods, this is a highly profitable time. In order to capitalize on the seasonal momentum, you need to craft a plan for your store’s prices, products, and inventory now. Here is the small business guide to holiday sales and promotions.

Pick Your Dates

Though the holidays fall on specific days near the end of the year, your store needs to choose how many days to run promotions beforehand. By picking your dates in advance, you can decide which products to put on sale and for how long. To select these days, perform market research and determine when your target demographic is most likely to come into your store. If your business caters more towards men, you may want to focus your sales closer to the day of the holiday since men are more likely to shop for gifts last minute. Conversely, if you cater to women with families, you will want to run sales throughout the holiday season when they are likely to bring their children into the stores with them. Work with your marketing personnel to choose the best days and times to run promotions.

Set Prices for Breaking Even

Pricing is one of the most challenging tasks for the holiday season. Because people will be more likely to spend their money, you will want to hike prices. However, your competitors may be doing the same thing, so you can set a competitive advantage with slightly lower prices. Yet, this psychological game could backfire in several ways. Instead of slashing prices altogether in anticipation of holiday spending, craft your sales to at least allow your business to break even. The most important part of holiday spending is to entice your customers with attractive prices that match the value of the products themselves. By grossly underselling items you run the risk of losing critical capital. Research the psychology of pricing and select which gambits will most likely succeed.

Use the Power of Nines

It is no secret that the number nine holds considerable power in the realm of product pricing. Though most customers understand that $79.99 is essentially $80.00, the consumer’s initial reaction and psychological response will associate with the lower price point. So, use this to your advantage! With the right finesse, you can easily sway customers to consider purchasing much more expensive products than they realize. Also, try using the number nine in smaller doses with pricing such as $8.29 or $25.49. For all the penny pinchers out there, these designations will appear more attractive to them because they are down one cent on the half or third dollar. No matter how you decide to price your products, use the power of nines to entice and outsmart customers.

Product Presentation

Interior decoration and design changes with the seasons. Holiday product presentation opens a whole new world of color themes and patterns that otherwise are irrelevant. So, use a snowflake-patterned tablecloth or a turkey-themed display to further emphasize the connection between the season and your products. Beyond the artistry, keep in mind the basic display rules relating to product positioning, coloring, and density. Also, look to elegantly advertise promotions or products with our wall sign holders or display stands that we have available here at The Global Display Solution. By reaching the customer at their eye level and seamlessly communicating with them through wall signs, you’ll be able to convey important promotional information. The big red signs with percentages off items in the store will grab people’s attention. But it is the smaller signs on the walls of the store that customers will look to for more specific information regarding sales or promotions—and this is where you can make the most impact.

Engage the Community

The holidays are a time of goodwill and positivity toward others. So, capitalize on this mood by joining in yourself. There are plenty of ways to engage the community and build brand recognition by helping local food banks or homeless shelters. Encourage customers to participate if they are able. You can also partner with local nonprofit organizations or charities and ask customers at checkout for a small donation. Though this will take extra time and energy to plan and implement, you can increase people’s perception of your business and encourage more customers to visit your store because you demonstrate comparable personal and moral values to the consumer.

Utilize Social Media

Social media and other digital marketing platforms are opportunities waiting to be seized. Utilize social media by promoting specific products online. You can reach out to people directly and communicate in the comments section with interested buyers. If you have a website, you can link back to your site in order to increase online traffic. Social media is also great for giveaways or gradual reveals. With giveaways, you can ask users to comment, like, or share your post with others for a chance to win one of your quality products. This will boost brand recognition and increase the chances of more people visiting your store in person and online.

Another way to entice and entrance people with social media is with a gradual reveal. By hinting at a new product or experience you are rolling out, people will become invested in the journey to the answer. If you drop hints, clues, or riddles about the item and ask people to engage, they will be enticed to check out your store. When the jig is up, reveal the product you plan on selling and create yet another online product promotion.

Use a few of the ideas from this small business guide to holiday sales and promotions to boost your seasonal profits. There is no limit to the creativity and opportunity when you use well-researched and relevant approaches to reach your customers. With the right strategies, all you have to do is sit back and relax as the holiday busyness builds your small business. If you have any questions about product displays or advertorial materials, reach out to us at The Global Display Solution today.