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6 Ways to Boost Holiday Sales

As the cold weather sets in and the holiday shopping season heats up, it's time to get creative to stand out from the crowd. No matter how great your products are, you still need to find new ways to excite your current customers and attract new ones.

While each business is different and what works for yours may not work for someone else, here are some techniques to try:

 

Get more social.

Increasing the social media presence of your business can capture the attention of customers in a variety of ways. If the only outreach you've done to customers is through your business page on Facebook, now may be the time to expand your strategies. Start adding photos to Instagram, open a Twitter account with pithy comments that link back to your business or products, or launch an email campaign to your current customer list.

Even if you're already active on multiple platforms, you may want to up your game with social media marketing strategies. Consider adding videos1 or host an Instagram Live2 or Facebook Live3 event. And don't forget to make your social media shoppable, with links to your website or to specific products.

A little innovation in your social media outreach can help bring in new customers. Interacting with other noncompeting local businesses on social can help get the attention of their customers. So consider reaching out to other local retailers who serve a similar customer base as you do, but with different products. It could be a win-win for both of you.

 

Reward your loyal customers.

One way to generate more repeat customers is to offer them something special that's not available to new customers. You can start a loyalty program that gives discounts after a set spending amount or a number of a purchases. Another option is to offer exclusive discounts or holiday specials to repeat customers.

 

Don't overlook the visuals.

Your physical store presence may be more important than ever this holiday season, when more people are shopping online. To attract buyers, you may want to update your shop with a new window display,4 fresh paint, brighter lighting or a new sign. Make sure your store is visually appealing inside, too. A clean, well-lit, and well-organized shopping experience5 will help you bring in new customers and increase sales to those who come in to browse.

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A clean, well-lit, and well-organized shopping experience will help you bring in new customers and increase sales to those who come in to browse.

 

Provide stellar customer care.

For many people, what makes one store better than another is their experience. Customer service is important to brand loyalty for 96% of customers,6 according to a 2017 Microsoft survey. Hiring the right people for your business and training them is important, but the personal touch can make your company stand out even more. Attaching a handwritten note to a mail order or carefully packaging gift items in the store can make your products memorable.

 

Upgrade your online service.

Your website needs to be customer-friendly, easy to navigate, and updated frequently to keep people coming back. Most important, it must be simple for customers to buy and pay. Offer multiple different ways to pay, from various credit cards to an integrated one-click link for PayPal or Venmo. Be sure to offer shoppers the option of creating a profile to save their shipping and billing addresses, as well as their payment info. This is especially important during the holidays when shoppers are in a hurry, and will ease the friction for repeat customers.

 

Consider package deals and subscription boxes.

When your customers put an item in their online cart or when they come into your store to buy one product, that can be a good moment to entice them to buy additional gifts. To increase your sales volume, you may want to consider add-on items at a discount, buy-two-get-one-free or even a subscription box. Subscription boxes make an excellent holiday gift, so you may want to create a monthly or quarterly box of products at different price points and promote them in your store and online.

A little creativity and some extra time invested in your online and in-person stores can make this holiday season a successful one for your business that extends into the new year.

Important disclosure information

This content is general in nature and does not constitute legal, tax, accounting, financial or investment advice. You are encouraged to consult with competent legal, tax, accounting, financial or investment professionals based on your specific circumstances. We do not make any warranties as to accuracy or completeness of this information, do not endorse any third-party companies, products, or services described here, and take no liability for your use of this information.

  1. Syed Balkhi, "5 Creative Video Marketing Tips for Small Businesses," Business.com, published September 10, 2018, accessed October 19, 2020. Back
  2. Kaley Hart, "15 Sensational Tips for Using Instagram Live," Jumper Media, published March 16, 2019, accessed October 19, 2020. Back
  3. Facebook for Media, "Tips for Using Facebook Live," accessed October 19, 2020. Back
  4. Humayun Khan, "A Foolproof Guide to Creating Window Displays That Turn Heads and Drive Foot Traffic," Shopify Retail Blog, published February 15, 2018, accessed October 19, 2020. Back
  5. Bob Phibbs, The Impact of Store Appearance During Covid-19", Retail Doc, accessed October 15, 2020. Back
  6. Microsoft, 2017 State of Global Customer Service Report," accessed October 15, 2020. Back