Tis the season for giving – and for big sales.
“Holiday shoppers can make or break your annual sales target,” Erica Nicole, founder and publisher of YFS Magazine, writes in this Huffington Post article. Between 20 and 40 percent of annual sales for small and mid-size retailers happen in the last two months of the year, according to the National Retail Federation.
But the holidays will be happiest for small businesses that keep up with these marketing trends:
Go Mobile
Make sure your company website is mobile-friendly. This is known as “responsive” web design.
According to the Mobile Marketing Association, mobile is expected to have an impact on 87 percent of all holiday purchases. Nicole points out that 101.7 million consumers will make purchases on the mobile devices, a 37.3 percent increase from last year.
“Engage with ‘mobile’ holiday shoppers or they’ll make a list, check it twice and you won’t be on it,” Nicole writes.
Does your mobile website have a “click-to-call” function for potential customers who find your site on their smartphones? Only 15 percent of small businesses offer websites with responsive design, according Barrett Newell in the blog G/O Digital.
Tweet deals
Give potential customers something to tweet about. Got a big sale? Start working on your hashtag. Nicole cites a survey that found 45 percent of Twitter users surveyed said they would rather take Twitter shopping with them than their husband or wife. So start talking to your potential customers with tweets about smart gift ideas.
Nearly 65 percent of shoppers will use social media to find the perfect gift, according to Crowdtap.
“Now’s the time to pull out all the stops on your Ultimate Gift Guide for ‘insert target audience here’ and Must-Haves for ‘insert target audience here’. Once you’ve pulled together your trusty, and completely biased gift list distribute it to your email subscribers, and share it with targeted media outlets,” Nicole writes.
Keep the content coming. Mobile marketing is just another part of, rather than something separate from, your other marketing efforts.
“Mobile marketing is what connects the dots between screens and stores,” Newell writes. “… customers will be using their mobile devices to investigate offers available in their community, read reviews, clip coupons and even make purchases. Small businesses cannot afford to delay getting into the mobile game when forming their digital marketing strategy for the holiday season and beyond.”
Give
It’s the giving season not only for customers, but for your business too. Nicole recommends business owners don’t discount the importance of giving back. According to Nicole, “If you support a local cause, now is the time to donate a percentage of sales to charity. You’d be surprised what can happen when you commit to a company culture of giving.”
