If you own a small business, you need to learn how to prepare for small business holidays. Regardless of the holiday, you can do things now to generate profits and diminish your risks. The following seven holiday season tips offer helpful insights into how to reap benefits during small business holidays while also reducing your liability.
1. Stretch Your Sales to the Limits
Benefit from holiday sales by combining your services with those offered by other local businesses. Create appealing bargains for people representing every age group, and think about hosting exclusive sales promotions open to invited guests. Offer exciting contests to attract new customers. You can focus on New Year's Day by inviting people to enter a contest in which they describe different exercise programs to get them into better shape. Hold a special drawing enabling shoppers to receive free gifts or gift cards. Ask customers for their feedback about the things that pique their interests.
2. Enrich Your Trade by Incorporating Traditional Strategies Pertaining to Small Business Holidays
Invite Christmas carolers to sing favorite traditional hymns during the holiday season, or spice up the ambiance in your store by serving homemade cookies and hot apple cider with cinnamon sticks. You could set up a demonstration illustrating how to bake gingerbread cookies and build a gingerbread house. Let your business make a statement by offering a free gift-wrapping service complete with complimentary ribbons and gift cards. On Halloween, you might set up a talking animated toy monster outside your store. People enjoy meandering from one store to another while they search for unusual articles. Fill up the shelves in your store with innovative items to ensure high sales.
3. Protect Your Business With Time-Tested Strategies
Hire security guards to prevent potential break-ins. Even the most crooked thief does not want to spend a holiday in prison. You should also speak to an insurance agent about obtaining general liability insurance. Business liability insurance coverage protects your small business from potential lawsuits during small business holidays and throughout the year. Other holiday season tips include making your business safe for employees and consumers. Use precautionary measures to eliminate potential accidents in your parking lot or inside the store. Utilize road salt and sand to prevent slip-and-fall accidents during snowy and icy weather conditions. If you do not know how to make your business safe during the winter, hire a professional crew to address these issues.
4. Enrich Your Small Business Holidays by Including Volunteers and Promoting Charities
Prior to New Year's Day, ask a local fitness instructor to volunteer one or two hours to teach people how to start an exercise regimen. You might supply complimentary pamphlets about exercise and nutrition. Your willingness to offer free information to the public may attract more shoppers. Feature one special charity favored by your business and demonstrate your compassion by volunteering several hours a week to benefit your chosen charity. Work with churches, homeless shelters and community outreach organizations. Small business holidays filled with charitable endeavors are sure to please new customers. You can appeal to a broad range of consumers by promoting charitable organizations assisting stray animals, people with disabilities and children with incurable illnesses.
5. Offer Early Morning and Late Evening Hours for Holiday Shoppers
Holiday season tips are not complete unless they include your complete dedication and responsibility toward each customer. For instance, shoppers who are busy during the holiday season are sure to appreciate your store's liberal opening and closing hours. Offer your customers extended weekend hours and special sales events. Provide the first 25 or 50 shoppers with promotional coupons offering an extra 10 percent discount. Give late shoppers irresistible sales that include free bonuses when they spend specified amounts of money during their holiday shopping sprees. Keep your shelves fully stocked to maintain a steady customer flow during small business holidays. You should train employees to greet every customer with a smile.
6. Remember to Send Clients Special Greetings During the Holidays
Whether the holiday is Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's Day, cards sent via snail mail impart a nostalgic way to celebrate special holidays. Personalize your cards by engraving each customer's name or work with a local printer to print thank-you notes and greeting cards featuring colorful, eye-catching designs. If you have a special way with words, you can even include original poems expressing your heartfelt thanks to loyal customers. A few kind words may inspire each customer to continue shopping at your store during the new year. Mention any special upcoming events your business plans to sponsor in celebration of the holiday.
7. Holiday Season Tips Should Include Valuable Marketing Techniques
Do not ignore proven marketing techniques applying to small business holidays. Creative marketing strategies provided by professionals are designed with your customers in mind, so you could benefit from using traditional and contemporary marketing techniques. For example, you might entertain children with a free puppet show or communicate with your followers on several popular social network platforms. You could send each customer a special holiday email greeting in which you include a personal story about your family, pets or favorite hobbies. From giving away complimentary gifts and sponsoring a charity to providing free entertainment and offering extraordinary sales events, capturing the attention of your shopping audience is sure to reap benefits.
Written by Hiscox Blog
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