The holiday season is the biggest and most profitable time of the year for businesses, and women-owned businesses especially should take advantage of the season. Deloitte estimates that holiday retail sales are going to climb to around $1.147 trillion and $1.152 trillion during the November-to-January period this year.
That’s a huge amount of profit, and one that companies big and small would do well to take advantage of.
Unfortunately, small businesses may find themselves struggling to keep up with the competition during the winter sales season. Bigger companies with larger marketing budgets are most likely going to capture a large chunk of the market, but that doesn’t mean women entrepreneurs can’t carve out a slice for themselves.
We’ve previously written about ‘How to Improve Your Business’ Cyber Security’ for more sustainable operations. Just like protecting your company’s information will benefit operations in the long run, so too will holiday season profits. Below are 5 simple ways women entrepreneurs can market their home businesses during the holidays.
Maximize Social Media
Ever since the social media boom in the past decade, social networking has grown to fill a variety of roles in our daily lives. One of these roles is, of course, as a marketing hub for small businesses.
Business.com suggests maximizing the interactive portion of social media. Use seasonally-relevant polls, questionnaires, Live videos, and other tools to engage with your customers. Creating a thriving online community can be a surefire method to netting those holiday sales.
Send Out Emails
A survey by AWeber found that 79% of small businesses say that email marketing is essential to their business strategies. This is especially true during the holidays, where email campaigns are perfectly poised to capture customers right as they’re about to make a purchase.
For better results, make sure that your emails are relevant and personalized. Keep them short and simple: remind customers about the season and make sure your discount codes, promos, and products are visible and easy to understand.
Mail Promotions
Direct mail marketing is one of the greatest boons for small businesses. Low cost but with incredible ROI, it allows you to bring your brand right into customers’ homes— literally. This deep into the season may have you questioning whether direct mail marketing is worth it, however, especially given how much time direct mail takes.
You don’t have to worry, though. Fast Pass print programs are being used by Triadex Services and other leading marketing companies, which allow you to design, print, and send out your materials in time for the holiday rush.
Learn to Listen and Pivot
CNBC has reported on how small businesses have been forced to pivot during the pandemic to address customer needs. You can apply the same principle to home businesses during holiday sales. The advantage of being an entrepreneur is that you have the time and space to maximize your creativity.
Start listening to what customers want and use that information to create fresh, new campaigns like holiday boxes, special holiday services, and much more.
Leverage Your Status
Finally, the holiday season is the perfect time to take advantage of your greatest selling point: you. Small Business Trends found that consumers are more likely to support local small businesses this holiday season. Gearing your marketing and branding towards your local community is a surefire way to pull in more sales.
Make sure your customers know that when they support your home business, they support their community. Buying local means helping your community thrive, so everyone can look forward to a better, brighter New Year.