’Tis the season for businesses to have that final sales push of the year, for many B2C businesses this being the most profitable period of the year while being many B2B quietest period.

So what will your business do to make sure your products are top of mind as your customers make spending decisions post Black Friday and Cyber Monday? 

Here are simple ways your business can build quick marketing campaigns that will help you increase Christmas sales this festive season.

Offer special discounts to your customers

Offer special discounts to your best or most loyal customers on the things they buy the most. Why not treat them to a holiday gift, from you to them? Offering deals they can’t refuse on the things they buy the most is a great way to say Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or Happy Kwanzaa to your most loyal customers.

Remember, it usually costs you a lot more to acquire brand new customers than to retain the ones you have. So if you only really reach out to your all-stars once a year, make sure it’s during the holiday season. One approach to increase holiday sales might be to offer these loyal customers an even bigger break when they refer your business to family or friends . . . and those referrals make a purchase. 

Make your customer emails personalised

For online stores especially, but for any business that has email addresses and some basic information on their customers’ sales history, it’s great to be able to personalise emails by including their name and a pertinent detail. Maybe they’ve been a customer for more than a year. 

Maybe they always place a monthly order. If they always make the same order, personalise the email within the subject line “Merry Christmas Name, we have some great offers just for you”, provide a special discount code just for them or a suggestion for an item you think they would like based on their order history, and tell them why. 

Email segmentation based on your customers’ history or personal details such as their birthdate, if you know it, is a powerful tool. This approach reminds your customers that you really do appreciate their loyalty. It works well for a holiday marketing campaign but is also a great strategy anytime.

Offer gift certificates

Maybe you’re an automotive repair shop, a hairdresser, maid service, a professional organiser, or a web developer—how do you gift those things? With gift certificates, of course! 

Who wouldn’t love a free oil change, hair cut, or house cleaning? (I know I would, hint, hint.) Or maybe you offer a lot of products or services and choosing one is too difficult. Give the gift of choice, gift certificates are great stocking stuffers and offer a great opportunity to cross-sell. 

Don’t over complicate things, but don’t discount the power of offering an online option for purchasing a gift certificate, even if ultimately, you’re still mailing a physical copy. Try it out, promote them on your social media channels or to your email list. 

Make a visually appealing sign near your cash register if you have a brick and mortar shop. You might even run a sale on gift cards, offering a volume discount, or some other incentive (such as buy a gift certificate for a service and receive a service for free or at a discount) for your regular customers to purchase them as a gift. 

Cross-sell

The months leading up to the festive period are a great time to suggest items to go with the products or services your customers are already purchasing. Maybe they bought a beautiful set of earrings last year for a family member. This year, suggest the matching necklace. When you sell a spa package, offer the premium at-home spa kit to go with it as a carrier for the gift certificate. If you’re a B2B company who offers information services and slowing down for the year, why not offer your long term clients a free 3 month trial of other information services they’ve yet to purchase that you believe they would find valuable.

Hairdressers can cross-sell a salon-quality shampoo and conditioner set. The auto repair store can offer jumper cables or fix-a-flat canisters—all as nice little carriers or stocking stuffers for the gift certificates. Cross-selling is a great way to add value to the client plus increase December sales.

Send gift ideas

How many times have you been stumped on a gift for that hard-to-buy-for person on your list? Googled “What to buy your mother-in-law for Christmas?” We’ve all been there, so why not help your customers out by sending an email full of gift ideas tailored to the people on their list with headings like: “gifts for mum,” “great gifts for co-workers,” or “gifts for those who have everything”. Do you offer gift wrap? Add in a free gift wrap code for those who want to send the gift direct to the receiver or those (me) who try and avoid gift wrapping when possible.

What are your most popular items and who buys them? Share that info with the people on your mailing list and they’ll be grateful for it.

Offer free shipping or special deliveries

Who doesn’t love a surprise? Don’t be afraid to think outside the box to increase December sales. What if that premium spa package and at-home spa kit were hand-delivered with a bouquet of fresh flowers or a box of chocolates? 

What if the oil change was done on-site at the recipient’s home? What if a gift basket with a few jars of local homemade jam and bakery-fresh scones were delivered fresh on a Saturday morning? Wouldn’t that make the gift extra special? Imagine how much Instagram promotion would be included if you did something that made the person feel special.. Essentially, the influencer experience.

If you’re running an ecommerce store, it’s no secret that you’re competing with giant retailers like Amazon that are offering more choices and fast, free shipping. What are you going to do to either make it worth the wait and worth paying more for, or to cut your losses if you do offer free shipping?  

How you craft the customer experience around waiting for and receiving their purchase can make a big difference in how willing people are to shell out for shipping costs or wait longer than they’d have to if they bought from Amazon. 

Send cards or gifts to current and past clients.

Maybe staying in touch and top of mind is as simple as wishing your customers a Happy Holiday and thanking them for their business. Customers love to know they’re appreciated. Send them a thank you card or a special gift that has nothing to do with trying to sell them anything.

Make them feel involved with your brand, I always suggest to clients who have a new product coming out in the new year to send a taster of it to their best customers. Let’s pretend you run a soap shop, create a festive beautiful PR package, only for your best customers, including their most purchased item plus the unreleased item. This will make them feel exclusive, special and a guaranteed life long customer plus you will no doubt receive free promotion online.

Written by Clara