How to market your business during the holidays?

Holiday marketing is one of the best ways to boost sales during an otherwise slow year. Every entrepreneur should come up with seasonal promotions to market their business, irrespective of what service or product they sell. Here are a few great ways to market your services and products during the season:

Market your online business offline

If you work from home, it is almost impossible to serve the local market. However, most home based online businesses can benefit from advertising on the ground. Market your services within your community and nearby areas. You can also take part in fairs and holiday events organized by non-profit organizations, business associations, and others.

Apart from this, make your business stand out by hosting special events in your community. Use the time to showcase your services and products so customers can get an idea of what you have to offer. You can also keep little holiday Knick knacks as giveaways– to get visitors in the holiday spirit. Apart from this, you can also gift special coupons that customers can use to get discounts on your web store.

The holidays are the best setting because you get to meet so many people at once.

Offer discounts

Most people shop for others during the holiday season and love to get great deals. Hence, prepare yourself ahead of time to offer discounts that customers can’t ignore. This will help you enhance your customer base and even gain loyalty from repeat customers.

Be available

Holidays are not the time to take time off. Make sure you’re available to avoid losing out on substantial income opportunity. In fact, extend your working hours when advertising your business. Let customers know that you want to make their lives easy by staying open after business hours. You don't want potential customers to go to your competition because you were not available during a crucial time in their lives.

Use advertising signs

Besides using online marketing, you also need to set in motion an offline marketing plan with the help of advertising signs. From plain to a little complicated, your signage can be configured to represent the holidays, as they come. If you have a physical address, make sure you decorate your windows with holiday charms. Put up A-frames displaying the massive discounts on offer. Also, in case you have a substantial advertising budget, use it on mobile advertising and billboard marketing for maximum exposure.

It is wise to hire a professional sign making company to create your holiday advertising signs. These providers have the experience and skill to come up with unique designs and colors for your campaign.

The holiday season is not the time to take it easy. Follow the aforementioned ideas and you'll easily be able to keep up with or beat your competition. However, business owners and marketers are people, too. They of course should also spend time with their friends and families to celebrate the festivities. The key is to balance it all out.

The rewards of retail marketing

People are always going to go shopping. A lot of our effort is just: 'How do we make the retail experience a great one?'- Philip Green

Retail marketing is a way of promoting a service or a product directly to the consumers. The method can take several forms, such as direct-mail pieces, television commercials, banner ads and coupons. There are several advantages to retail marketing.

Spreads awareness

One of the main benefits of retail marketing is spreading awareness. The method helps in putting a spotlight on the product by letting the consumer know that it exists. For instance, if a retail marketing campaign promotes an acne removal cream through banner ads and commercials, someone with the problem will come to know that a product is available to help them get rid of their acne issue. In response, they will buy the product and increase its sale, in turn benefiting the manufacturer and the merchant selling the product in the store.

Basically, potential customers of a product have to know that the product exists for the sales to go up. Retail marketing bridges the gap between a product and its target market.

Boosts profits

Another advantage that retail marketing offers is increasing profits. Whether it's unveiling a new product or giving away special coupons, retail marketing can attract larger crowds to a store. Large number of potential customers walking into the establishment will lead to better sales. Higher sales volume ultimately brings increased business profitability.

Creates a competitive environment

Retail marketing has the ability to create healthy competition between retailers. Hence, it leaves no room for monopoly. This benefits customers because it assists in keeping the costs down. To sustain in the market, retailers adjust their prices according to the competition.

Creates jobs

Retail marketing helps to attract more customers to the stores. This further leads to creation of new jobs. When retail stores have more business, they also need more people to help them with sales, marketing and operations. For those looking to get into the retail industry, retail marketing can certainly open up new career opportunities.

However, for successful marketing, a business needs to keep certain things in mind. For instance, it is very important to offer excellent customer service. There is no point in marketing your product impressively and then treating the people that walk into your stores with indifference. Train your staff to be courteous and helpful. By providing a welcoming environment for customers, you can generate loyalty and place your store above other outlets. Apart from this, it is also important to use physical banners, A-frames and other methods to advertise your services right outside your establishment. This will help you target daily passersby and impulsive shoppers.

Foot traffic certainly plays a big role in making a retail store successful, which relies heavily on consumers to continue its operations. With an efficient marketing plan, you can grab the interest of passersby and engage your existing customers to enhance profits and sales. As you cultivate new marketing strategies, think of how you can increase the volume of customers walking into your store and the ways through which you can change them into buyers.