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Small Business Tips to Boost Your Holiday Sales
by Dean L Swanson
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November 4, 2021
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Tips and Techniques to cultivate Holiday Season Sales for your small business

There's no question that sales will be a big deal in the 2021/22 holiday season. Over the past two years, many businesses across the United States have suffered declining customer numbers, stock delays, and declining sales. But the tide may be turning. According to Mastercard, Deloitte, and Bain's forecasts, holiday sales this year will grow at least 7% on last year's sales to roughly $800 billion. 

So how can you take advantage of the 2021/22 holiday season boom as a small business owner or employee?

For this topic, I will go to one of SCORE’s content partners who works in the SaaS industry of companies.  Software as a service (SaaS) has been the largest and fastest-growing market segment since 2019, with Gartner reporting a 2020 growth forecast of $104.7 billion for the industry. Businesses now spend 50% more on these cloud technologies than they did just two years ago, and they’re growing more reliant on them, too.  Zoe Devitto is a content marketing strategist for SaaS brands like FollowUpBoss, Mention, and more.  I will share content from one of her recent pieces for insight and suggested strategies to help small business CEOs to maximize thier sales revenue this holiday season. 

1. Leverage BOGO sales.   

Have you ever walked into a store during the holidays, seen a discount that you couldn't say "no" to, and bought more than you planned? That's the power of a BOGO sale. 

"Buy One Get One" free (BOGO) sales are one of the most effective types of sales promotions. Why? According to Associate Professor Priti Salvi of the S.V Institute of Management, consumers love BOGO sales because they get extra value at no additional cost. 

Associate Professor Salvi's research also shows that BOGO sales increase a person's likelihood to enter a store and buy something - so BOGO sales are great for retailers, too. 

To leverage BOGO sales these holidays, time your sale with a critical sales day to maximize consumers' excitement. Critical sales days include: 

  • Cyber Monday (which earned retailers $12.16 billion in revenue in 2020)
  • Small Business Saturday (November 27th) 
  • Free Shipping Day (December 14th)
  • Super Saturday (the last Saturday before Christmas) 
  • Boxing Day 

2. Encourage loyalty discounts

Rewarding your best customers with special discounts is a great way to boost your sales this holiday season, as you'll incentivize people to spend more in-store. 

To reward your best customers, offer special deals to your loyalty club members and frequent shoppers. Ideally, these deals shouldn't be monetary, but the type of things that "money can't buy." For example,

  • Large order discounts 
  • A free mystery gift item with every $10 they spend 
  • Free gift bags that contain exclusive stock people can't buy in-store
  • Festive holiday packs that include a holiday card, candy, and loyal-member-only discount coupons 

As these deals are only for a target audience of your closest members, you should advertise them through your email newsletters, SMS messages, loyalty club social media groups, targeted emails, and on your website. 

3. Offer Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL).   

While Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services were rare several years ago, they are a daily part of life for many Americans today. According to research from Ascent, only 37.65% of American adults had used a BNPL service in July 2020. That figure jumped to 55.8% in July 2021 - a 48% increase in twelve months. 

BNPL services are fantastic for both customers and small businesses. They allow people to purchase items they want without needing the full cash total upfront, and they help stores sell to customers who couldn't otherwise make a purchase. 

Naturally, offering BNPL services in your small business is a great way to boost your sales this holiday season - especially if you:

  • Offer multiple BNPL options, so BNPL is possible for all customers (including Afterpay, Klarna, PayPal Credit, Affirm, Zip, and Zezzle)
  • Advertise that you offer BNPL on social media, in-store, and on your website 
  • Train your staff to handle BNPL transactions so BNPL doesn't slow down your staff (as BNPL is still new, many seasonal employees are understandably confused about handling BNPL transactions) Create holiday cheer with a marketing campaign

4. Create holiday cheer with a marketing campaign

Holiday-themed marketing campaigns are a great way to bring more people in-store, as you can produce unique, festive, and fun ads that will get consumers excited. . 

5. Plan ahead for your inventory.  Imagine this: it's the middle of December, and you've advertised a new and exclusive item. But unfortunately, you've sold out. Now, everyone who enters the store for the item leaves empty-handed, and you miss out on thousands of dollars in potential revenue. If you don't want this to happen to your small business, you'll need to plan ahead.

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About the author
Dean Swanson
Dean L Swanson
Dean is a Certified SCORE Mentor and former SCORE Chapter Chair, District Director, and Regional Vice President for the North West Region, and has developed and managed many businesses. The Rochester Post Bulletin publishes his weekly article on a topic geared toward the small business community. The articles here are printed in their entirety.
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