With less than 70 days until Christmas, the holiday season is quickly approaching. That’s certainly hard to believe, isn’t it?

Now, you might be thinking it’s a bit too soon to launch your holiday marketing strategy and respective promotions/offers. However, according to a recent article on Business2Community.com, the National Retail Federation (NRF) indicates that “each year, about 40 percent of consumers begin their holiday shopping before Halloween.”

Knowing this, keep in mind that this year, in particular, is unique as the persistent impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will likely influence consumer behavior.

Due to the changing environment, individuals might be compelled to start planning their holidays farther in advance, shopping earlier, etc.

As a business owner, this trend is important to note so you can start getting ready now. Additionally, there are some reliable ways to help generate more business this holiday season. Read on to learn about five ideas for boosting your holiday marketing.

1. Offer a Gift Card Special

Don’t underestimate the power of a good gift card deal. Often times, gift cards make the perfect gift for family, friends, co-workers, and many others.  

Consider offering a special gift card deal such as purchase $100 in gift cards and receive a $20 bonus for yourself – or something similar. Offers like this can lend themselves well to creative and fun promotions, graphics, advertisement, etc. Plus, the beauty of a gift card deal is that you make the money upfront, whether or not the gift cards ends up being redeemed in the future. It also helps encourage repeat business from the buyer and possibly new business from the gift card recipient. Either way, it’s a win, win!

2. Limited Time Services, Products, or Menus

Do something special – something that you normally wouldn’t offer throughout the year. For instance, restaurants might introduce new seasonal dishes and drink or feature a special holiday prix fixe menu. If your business sells services or products, you might develop a special service package or gift set available for a set price – I.E. a holiday haircut, color, and style service package, a car wash and detailing package, or a set of mini products for the gift recipient to try.

3. Run a Holiday Giveaway on Social Media

Boost engagement and reach on your business’ social media channels by running a holiday giveaway or contest online.

Prompt your audience to do something specific to enter. For instance, ask people to like your page and tag a certain number of friends in a comment on the post. Having them tag others can ultimately encourage others to participate.

If you run a contest, you should also ask them to do something specific like take and submit/post a photo either in the comments of a post on your page or on their own page but tag your business. The photo should be something that relates to your business. For example, a salon might ask for people to share a photo of their “go-to holiday style” or a restaurant might prompt people to share a photo of their favorite seasonal dish. Explain that they must also like the page to qualify to win. This helps increase your follower base too.

4. Holiday Discount or Coupon

Get people in the door (or shopping online) by offering a special promotion or deal.

Some ideas for effective and enticing offers include:

• Come in on a certain date and get X
• Buy one, get one promotion (retail products, meals, etc.)
• $X amount off a total check or X% off a total purchase
• Limited time, enticing bounce back offers
• Complimentary dessert or drink with a meal

While discounting a service or product might not sound the most appealing, it’s effective in enticing people to come in and buy. Be mindful that when offering a 10% discount, getting 90% of business is better than 0% / nothing at all.

5. Reward Your Loyal Customers

The holiday season is the perfect time of the year to let loyal customers, guests, clients, etc. know you’re grateful for them and their continued business. For instance, you might send them an email or coupon for an exclusive offer or deal made especially for members of your loyalty or rewards program. As another option, you might host a small-scale event with complimentary beverages and hors d’oeuvres where loyalty members / customers can enjoy early shopping privileges or special discounts. Though events look different this year, offering something small and intimate can still be successful.

When promoting your holiday specials and deals, be sure to include all avenues of communication. Share a news release with media, post about the special on social media, update your website, design and run ads, etc. By planning ahead and getting an early start you can help ensure a successful holiday season.

For more information on how PTE can help you kickstart your seasonal and holiday marketing efforts, contact us.