I founded FreshLime to help business owners create better results, build stronger relationships with their customers, and fuel more opportunities for growth. A huge part of that is through giving… not just this holiday season but throughout the year! You might be worried about budgeting for a “giving” campaign, but when you give you get – it’s as simple as that. And extending that past the holiday rush sets you apart from the competition.
Here are a few tips on how to boost sales while giving back in 2016:
1. Offer a peace offering.
The holidays are all about gratitude and reflection, but we should be grateful for customers all year. The mark of the end of a year gives you an opportunity to look back on your customer list to those that aren’t active or haven’t worked with you in awhile, let them know you are grateful for the support they gave you this year and offer a discount or extra benefit to come back.
Send an e-mail, make a phone call or better yet – send an actual card! I don’t often make offline recommendations but that doesn’t happen very often anymore and can go a long way in creating lasting relationships with your customers – especially if you haven’t done it before.
2. The way to a customer’s heart is through their stomach.
…or at least that’s what my mother used to say;). If you have a physical store or find yourself on the road every day visiting customers make sure you let everyone know about holiday hours and offer cookies or donuts or something extra special to give back and celebrate the holidays. After this season is over consider doing the same thing occasionally – maybe every time a 5th Tuesday happens or every 3rd Thursday. Who doesn’t love an extra thoughtful gesture beyond your normal scope of work?
3. Give to those in need… all year long.
If you don’t already have a local charity partner, team up with an organization that makes sense for your business and extend it into the new year. If you are really feeling the love and want to change things up, choose a different cause every month.
To start right away, try offering a discount for the rest of December and the entire month of January when customers bring in items like gently used clothing or nonperishable food items – this will draw foot traffic to your business and get people talking. As a small business, it’s crucial to have ties to the community and to ensure that your customers feel good about doing business with a company that gives back.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn and Twitter! For a free demo of FreshLime, visit us HERE.