Small Biz Strategies for Successful Holiday Season
Hey, small business owners! As the holiday season approaches, it's time to prep for the busiest shopping days of the year: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday (what we are calling BFSBSCM). With the right strategies and planning, you can not only compete but succeed this holiday season. In this blog, we'll walk you through essential BFSBSCM marketing tips and strategies to ensure your small biz makes the most of this holiday season.
Strategize Your Campaigns Early
The key to a successful BFSBSCM campaign is to start early. By planning ahead, you can reduce your dependence on paid ads and heavily reduced discounts. Let’s chat about what you need to keep in mind during the initial planning stages.
1. Optimize Your Email & SMS Campaign Send Times: Determine when your audience is most engaged and schedule your campaigns accordingly. Sending out campaigns during times when your audience is most engaged increases your chances of then interacting with your campaign.
2. Plan Your Campaign Schedule: Create a schedule that includes emails, social media posts, website updates, and other marketing and promotional activities. A well-planned campaign keeps a consistent presence to your audience allowing them to become more aware of your brand and the deals you are offering. Use our Holiday calendar to help keep you on schedule!
3. Segment Your Audience: Divide your audience lists into segments to tailor your messaging effectively. By segmenting your audience into groups based on needs and interests, you can tailor your message to each group.
4. Prep For Creative Assets: Prepare the visuals, copy, and content you'll need for your campaigns. Prepping these creative assets in advance ensures a timely and quality campaign for your holiday season!
Starting early allows you to refine your BFSBSCM strategy, including when and how often to send emails, planning of your offerings, and crafting engaging content. Need help with your strategy or creative assets? We are here to help!
Prep Your Holiday Promos like a Pro
While large discounts are a common BFSBSCM strategy, there are other options for a small business to consider for holiday campaigns:
1. Buy-Now-Pay-Later Options: Consider offering flexible payment plans, especially for higher-priced items. Offering flexible payment plans can reduce financial costs for customers which makes higher-priced items more accessible. Check out AfterPay and Shop Pay to get started.
2. Holiday Product Launch: Release a new color or size for an existing product to keep things fresh. This increases excitement and holiday spirit leading to a boost in sales.
3. Limited-Edition Bundle Or Collection: Create a sense of urgency with exclusive bundles or collections. Limited-edition items generate a sense of urgency and exclusivity amongst customers, causing them to be more likely to purchasing items.
4. Free Gift With Purchase: Attract customers with enticing freebies. Offering freebies incentivizes customers to buy from your business which makes them feel like they are getting more for their money’s worth. Plus, you can segment these shoppers after the holidays and send re-target campaigns, so they can restock on the item at regular price.
5. Contest: Engage your audience with the chance to win prizes. Offering a contest amongst your audience can be a strong motivator for your customers to engage with your brand and content. Make it holiday-themed and offer a few samples of your higher ticket items to entice them to join.
6. Collab: Collaborate with brands or influencers that share your target audience. This is a great strategy to introduce your brand's services or products to a new audience that aligns with your brand values.
Our recommendation is to choose a few offers that align with your business and test them during an earlier holiday, like Labor Day, to gauge their effectiveness!
Prepare Your BFSBSCM Email Calendar
A well strategized email calendar is necessary for BFSBSCM success. Here's a timeline to guide you:
October, week 3: BFSBSCM VIP Early Access
October, last week: Holiday Promotions Starter Email
November, week 1: Gift Guide Email
November, week 2: Free Shipping Weekend
November, week 3: Early VIP Access Email
Black Friday: Promotion Announcement
Small Business Saturday: Promotion Announcement
Cyber Monday: Promotion Announcement
Tuesday: Extended Final Sales
December, week 2: Last Chance Holiday Delivery
A thought-out timeline is important, so be sure to email your most engaged lists strategically, and feel free to adjust your frequency as the holiday season moves forward.
Download our small biz Holiday calendar so you can get started!
BFSBSCM Do’s & Don’ts
Here are some do’s and don'ts for a successful BFSBSCM campaign:
Do:
- Clean your email list before the holiday
- Segment your sends to target specific customer groups
- Personalize your content to build relationships within your audience
- Be transparent about shipping timelines
- Consider discount alternatives based on audience interest
Don't:
- Overdo your email subject lines or make false promises
- Send too many emails in a day
- Blast your entire subscriber list without segmentation
- Set false expectations for discounts
Are You Ready to Start Planning for BFSBSCM?
Small biz owners, you have the ability to make this holiday season your most successful one yet! By starting early, carefully planning your BFSBSCM offers, creating a well-strategized email calendar, and following best practices, you can attract engaged holiday shoppers to your business, and recoup those sales!
Ouu i love understands the challenges small businesses face, and we're here to help. Let us be your extended creative marketing team, assisting you in crafting compelling campaigns and marketing strategies that will make this holiday season unforgettable.
Happy selling!
Post Date: 10/12/23