Now that you’ve set up your business as a destination for the holidays, it’s time to let your current customers know and reach new ones. Starting to prepare your marketing strategy early can help make sure that when customers start thinking about holiday shopping, they think of your business first.
I’ve put together some strategies that worked for my business over the years, and we also asked sellers like you what their businesses do for the festive/holiday season. We featured some of their strategies here to help inspire you, including running sales, offering gift cards, marketing through social media and email, and cross-business collaborations.
@alexandriak, owner of My Girlfriend’s Wardrobe, promotes their gift cards on Instagram.
Sales & Promotions
Running giveaways and sales can also help spread the word and promote your business. One seller suggested offering free samples for every purchase, consisting of new items, which both feels like an added treat and gets customers excited about new products. Otherwise offering other sales on your products or free shipping can help entice customers to come in and treat themselves. Finding community donation events is also a wonderful way to not only give back to your neighborhood, but also to showcase new products.
Gift Cards
Gift cards are a key part of giving culture, and if you don’t have them set up for your business, you could be missing out on a very solid holiday income stream. I know that I’m hard to shop for, so for holidays and birthdays I always get gift cards to some of my favorite places. If you have customers, you have fans, and their friends or family might want to treat them to something that you offer.
Square makes it incredibly easy to offer plastic as well as digital eGift Cards (depending on availability in your country) right through your POS or website, and they’re just as convenient for customers to use. If you do offer Square eGift Cards in the United States, you can opt-in to be listed on their Give & Get Local Platform, which is a great way to help customers find local businesses that offer them. I also ran gift card sales every year, offering 10% off eGift Cards by setting up an automatic discount through Square.
@Lovewell, owner of Lovewell Tea & Coffee, shows a behind the scenes peek at their social media setup for an Autumn post.
Reach a New Audience on Social Media
Making social media a part of your regular marketing plan can help you share what’s going on with your business and keep your customers updated. Posting pictures and videos of your decorations and offerings can draw in their attention and curiosity, inspiring existing and new customers to come in to see and try it for themselves. I recommend uploading once a day, or every other day, to really keep your business top of mind. That may sound like a lot, but the work you put in here can really pay off if you put in the effort and attract the right audience. I recommend batching this process, spending an hour taking a lot of pictures and videos all at once, to give yourself content for a few weeks. You can even link your social media accounts to Square Online to make buying and visiting your shop even easier.
@alexandriak, owner of My Girlfriend’s Wardrobe, shares a video of her decorating her shop on an Instagram Reel.
Email your Customers
Sending out an email marketing campaign is another strategy that really works. Make sure to keep it short with a catchy subject line, a few key points, and absolutely include pictures. You can build up your email list from your customers right on Square POS or on your Square Online site. I’ve found that people tend to unsubscribe if they receive too many emails, so I like to stick to one email every 3-6 weeks.
Square Marketing has seasonal holiday email templates that make it really easy to theme your messages to the season. If you want to make sure your emails don’t get lost in customers’ inboxes, Square has a fantastic automatic follow up and reminder feature where it can send your campaign out again after four days, only to those who didn’t open it the first time. This gives you an extra chance to reach those who didn’t see it, without spamming and upsetting the ones who did.
Collaborate with other Businesses
You can even experiment with some alternative marketing strategies, like partnering and cross-promoting with other local businesses. @Twiggy, from TWIG Michael Pooley Flowers, collaborates with other businesses all around town, decorating pubs and offices so customers can get a feel for their work no matter where they go. It also establishes their business as credible experts and the go-to place for their needs.
Start Planning
Fully diving in to celebrate the festive holiday season at your business can attract new and existing customers to turn it into a destination during a key buying season. While there can be a lot to manage to keep it all organized, there are plenty of steps you can take to make it all run smoothly. Be on the lookout for more as we dive into strategies to help keep you on track.
See More Articles in this Series:
- Establish Your Business as a Festive/Holiday Destination
- Keep Your Business Running Smoothly through the Festive/Holiday Season
- Go Seasonal and Skip the Festive/Holiday Season
Do you have any questions about marketing your business for the holidays? Leave them in the comments below! (New to the Seller Community? Learn how to join.)
This article is for educational purposes and does not constitute legal, financial, or tax advice. For specific advice applicable to your business, please contact a professional.
