In theory, most of want to wait until after the Thanksgiving tryptophan wears off before we start thinking about holiday shopping, but the reality is that shops were stocking candy canes before the clock struck midnight on Halloween. And you probably noticed that, on November 1, your inbox was already swamped with red and green holiday shopping guides, sales, offers and more. So what does that mean? If you own a business and you\u2019re not already talking about the holidays, you\u2019re behind. So, here are 7 quick ways to get on the holiday marketing train. And fast.<\/p>\n
Decorate Your Store \u2013 Brick and Mortar AND Online<\/strong><\/p>\n If you want people to be thinking about holiday shopping, you have to set the mood. That means decorating your story \u2013 both your brick and mortar store AND your website or Etsy shop, etc. Find ways to make things festive and put great gift ideas right by the door, in the windows, on your landing page, as checkout\u2026 whatever products or services you think would make great gifts. By decorating your shop, you\u2019re letting people know your business is in the holiday spirit and they can find a unique gift by shopping with you.<\/p>\n Play Christmas Music<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019ve all stopped, listened and groaned once or twice when we catch holiday music playing in October, but just like with decorating your store, if you want people to feel like shopping for holiday gifts, they need to be in the holiday spirit. Just try to keep it from being too obnoxious \u2013 maybe skip the Alvin and the Chipmunks album this year. It\u2019s a classic, but it makes it hard to have fun shopping.<\/p>\n Invite Santa and Offer Giftwrapping<\/strong><\/p>\n If you have youngsters, you might have noticed that many of the local breakfasts with Santa are already booked\u2026 And no one wants the A Christmas Story mall Santa line. If you have a location that makes sense \u2013 or if you can partner with another business who does \u2013 invite Santa to your shop, offer free gift wrap on items purchased from you that day, give out cookies and hot chocolate and promote like crazy. Everyone wants a chance to see Santa and snap a photo, especially if they aren\u2019t paying $20 a piece or $40 a photo to make it happen. Just make sure you have awesome gift items displayed front and center and have plenty of staff on hand to keep things (like purchases!) moving along throughout the event.<\/p>\n Gift Card Discounts and Bonuses<\/strong><\/p>\n Whether you decide to give a $5 thank you card to people who buy a gift card or you offer a discount on gift card purchases, people love free money. Just be sure to make it clear that those thank you cards or bonus gift cards are for use on a FUTURE purchase. You want happy customers \u2013 not confused ones.<\/p>\n Prepackage Gifts<\/strong><\/p>\n People are busy and everyone has someone on their list who is impossible to buy for. If you have items in your store that can be sold together as a gift, go ahead and pair them together as gift items. If you can package them together, great, but if not, just displaying them side by side is fine. Make it as easy as possible for people to find your best gift ideas without a lot of time or attention. Get creative on this one!<\/p>\n Entertain the Kids<\/strong><\/p>\n Families are always overbooked, which means, at some point, they\u2019ll be stopping by your store at a time that might not be ideal for their schedule. No parent wants to drag their kids through your shop when they clearly don\u2019t want to be there. Combat this problem by making coming to your store its own activity. Consider creating a space in your store where kids can color, decorate cookies or make their own holiday cards. If you don\u2019t want to do this every day, think about hosting family days. Even if parents don\u2019t buy something that day (although they probably will now that you gave them two minutes to think), they\u2019ll appreciate the gesture and hopefully come back another day.<\/p>\n Cross-Promote<\/strong><\/p>\n Your business has friends \u2013 the coffee shop up the street, the antiques store around the corner, the pizzeria next door. Find ways to cross-promote with the people in your business network. Even something as simple as a coupon on each other\u2019s registers can get people to walk across the street and see what your business is all about\u2026 and what amazing gifts you have displayed in the front window.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In theory, most of want to wait until after the Thanksgiving tryptophan wears off before we start thinking about holiday shopping, but the reality is that shops were stocking candy canes before the clock struck midnight on Halloween. And you probably noticed that, on November 1, your inbox was already swamped with red and green […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":86,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n