It’s that time of year, my favorite time of year…. the Holiday Season! When Fall finally arrives, I dig out my decorations, plan my Halloween costume, and book my Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s travel plans.  The holiday’s can bring a lot of joy and fun, but they can also bring some stress if you haven’t planned ahead.

As a business owner, you will want to capitalize on the fun and excitement that the holiday season brings.  Look at your marketing calendar for the next three months.  What do you have planned around each holiday?  Twenty to forty percent of yearly sales for small and mid-sized retailers take place within the last two months of the year. (National Retail Federation)  You don’t want to wait until December to start promoting your holiday specials.

40 percent of consumers begin shopping before Halloween. (National Retail Foundation)

Important dates:
Thanksgiving Nov 22nd
Black Friday Nov 23rd
Small Business Saturday Nov 24th
Cyber Monday Nov 26th
Giving Tuesday Nov 27th
Christmas Dec 25th
New Year’s Day Jan 1st

Inform your customers about other important dates such as the last day they need to order to guarantee shipping by Christmas, when they need to book their holiday parties by, or when they need to get their food catering orders in.  Market your specials and events across social media, email, and your website.  Offer a digital coupon on Facebook or Email.  Don’t forget to boost your posts on social media to your target market!

Along with promoting your holiday specials, mix in some fun and charitable giving with your marketing campaigns. For example: Hold a contest such as a picture or recipe contest do a giveaway for the 12 days of Christmas or giveaway a free turkey dinner for Thanksgiving.  Host a ladies sip and shop night.  Hold a toy drive or have your entire staff volunteer at a soup kitchen.  The possibilities are endless. Get out your calendar, sit down with your staff, and put on your creative hats.