When you run a business, you should always be sure to watch the calendar and know which holidays are coming up. People tend to look for deals and specials around holidays, and not just the big ones. Thanksgiving and Christmas work for you because you have the perfect opportunity to get your business involved in the community. However, the other holidays that get less attention can still work for your business! St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Labor Day, etc.. are all perfect opportunities for you to get your business out there. But, how? Here are 3 ways to make the holidays work for your business:
Provide Holiday-Specific Deals
Holidays are a great time to get going on any deals or specials you’ve wanted to run. You can make them holiday-specific to really get people interested. It’s a good idea to put an end-date, to ensure people follow through and feel the urgency to book an appointment or purchase your product. People tend to look for deals around holidays, because it’s common for businesses to “celebrate” by offering discounts. Some ideas of holiday-specific deals would be:
Valentine’s Day: Buy 1 Get 1 Half Off — This Week Only
St. Patrick’s Day: It’s Your Lucky Day! 20% off Any Service Booked Today
Labor Day: You Work Hard. It’s Time To Treat Yourself by Booking an Appointment with Us for $5 Off
The possibilities are endless! This is the perfect time to be creative when you’re celebrating holidays while also urging your customers to schedule with you.
Get the Conversation Going Online
People love talking about themselves! If you can get the conversation going online ever, it’s during a holiday. Consider posting a funny meme, or interesting story about the origin of the holiday to get people interested. A great way to get your followers involved is to ask them what some of their favorite traditions are! They will leave comments letting you know how they love to celebrate, and it will really get your presence built-up online. Holidays are a great time to ask holiday-specific questions that will get people to respond to your online content.
Customer Appreciation Time!
Customers, like everyone else, love to be appreciated! Holidays are perfect days to host customer appreciation events. Often times, people have the day off work. Even if they don’t, they’ll be feeling festive and interested in what you’re doing. If you want to show customer appreciation, without giving discounts or coupons, consider an event or having treats at your office when they come in, in honor of the holiday. Appreciating your customers should be done year-round, but holidays are perfect times for specific events to show that appreciation!
Make sure you’re making every holiday work for your business! It’s fun and effective.
For more insights on marketing strategy that actually works for small business, subscribe to the FreshLime Newsletter here. Connect with Jay Bean, Founder of FreshLime and Small Business Marketing Expert on LinkedIn and Twitter. And last of all, if any of these tips have helped you or if you have anything to add please comment below. We’d love to hear from you!