Many small and mid-sized retailers will do as much as 20-40 percent of their annual sales in the final two months of the calendar year, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), the nation’s largest retail trade association. Other service businesses, such as restaurateurs, caterers, travel agents, etc., are also dependent on doing brisk business each holiday season.

The holiday season is usually the busiest period of the year for many small business retailers. The opportunity to capitalize on the holidays in the APAC region has never been greater and is continuing to grow – Real Average Annual Disposable Income per Capita in the Asia-Pacific Region is up over US$500 in the past four years.

For many, it is an unparalleled opportunity to drive sales and turn large profits but many are likely already feeling snowed under by the ramp-up of the busy holiday season.

Create unique and seasonal landing pages

Many businesses make the mistake of not creating separate landing pages for their product and service offerings. Not only are campaign-specific landing pages a must (for any time of the year), but they can also be helpful to give your landing pages a holiday theme or flare. Make it clear that you’re offering something special for this specific time.

Start early but end later

People go crazy to shop for the holidays and are eagerly looking for discounts and offers, so, you can easily win the match if you start your holiday marketing before the competition does, and even extend your promotions to go on longer than that of your competition.

Rethink Your Business’ Budget 

During the holiday rush and shortly after is a key time to rethink your business’ budget. Similar to the aforementioned, maximize profit by determining how to allocate money for business expenses, new inventory, marketing strategies, pricing plans, and anything else pertaining to business needs. Thanks to the revenue that rolled in during the holidays, you will ideally have extra capital to play around with.

Run time-limited sales

Running popup online sales is another way to boost your sales during holiday shopping time. With this method, you increase your discount or offer an exclusive deal just for a few hours, such as by increasing a 45% off discount to 50% off for one hour only. You can even do this 2-3 times a day and multiple times during the sale.

Maintain Customer Relationships

Regardless of the season, you should constantly keep customers interested. Showing them how much you care is key to having them come back for more. Once the holiday rush is over, update them on how great the season and last year were with a friendly newsletter. Many retailers even send out special post-holiday coupons to their mailing lists. 

Implement Your Online Advertising & SEO Strategy

Now is the time to put your seasonal marketing plan and SEO strategy to use! Optimize campaigns based on popular holiday search phrases and keywords. You’ll want your retail business to be number one on the list when customers are looking for great holiday products and services.

Stay organized

Keep a creative and up-to-date office calendar in clear view for employees to see. Print a dry-erase or laminated, oversized calendar and include important dates such as your busiest days, the office holiday party, approved vacation time, key delivery dates, shipping deadlines, etc. You may also want to consider a shared electronic calendar that can send live changes and updates to your employees.

Customize your look

Every other business is also trying to capitalize on the buzz around the holidays so you need to make yourself stand out from the crowd to create marketing materials that set you apart from competitors. Design custom holiday materials for your website or other online properties and create e-coupons that can be sent out via email and social media. There are templates and samples are available online to help with your seasonal needs. 

We have always emphasized the importance of having a good website for your company because it can act as your best tool for marketing and sales. A poorly designed website can repulse people from your business and can cause you to lose customers before you even have them. Get in touch with HyperEffects to work on creating, enhancing, and making the website of your company more user-friendly.