This is the time for a final hurrah for small business. Dragging in some much needed revenue at the end of what we can all agree has been a pretty challenging year. We’ve pulled together some great end of year marketing tips for small business that can help you to maximise those last few weeks of 2020.
Black Friday & Cyber Monday
Use the Black Friday or Cyber Monday monikers in all your marketing. On social in particular, those hashtags have nearly 13m followers apiece. You don’t need to offer a massive discount on products or services to be part of the phenomenon. Offering add ons to any sales like vouchers or discount codes that are valid for future purchases at leaner times of the year, still add value to the customer and encourage repeat visits.
Deck the Halls
Even if you don’t sell anything with even the slightest connection to Christmas, show customers you are more Bob Crachit than Ebeneezer Scrooge. Decorate your space if you get physical visitors, or add some festive banners and images to your website if you are an online business. Make sure your podcasts and social posts have some sparkle. This year above all others has shown us we need a bit of bling to brighten our lives!
Future Sales
Keep an eye on future sales and offer customers vouchers. There has been a real upsurge in the purchasing of vouchers for small businesses particularly. Its a great way to ensure a bit of extra cashflow and helps people to show their support for small enterprises. It is also worth noting that around 10% of all vouchers sold in the UK, are never redeemed.
Charitable Giving
Charities have suffered more than most this year. A partnership with a charity can really boost your profile and create a whole new stream of potential customers through their supporters. Offering discounts to their supporters or donating a portion of takings on particular product or services makes for great PR and does real good in a tangible way.
Merch
At this time of the year, people are looking for quirky gifts. Inexpensive stocking fillers that promote your product or service are a great way to boost your reach and get fans to share your message. Be creative.
Another great end of year marketing tip is to run a social media campaign around the festive season. Try a 12 days of Christmas event where you discuss one of your great products or services on each of the days. Or an Instagram advent calendar where you ‘reveal’ daily posts or clips about what you do and what you sell.
There are lots of ways to get creative with this and try and squeeze out every last drop of positivity for your small business with these end of year marketing tips. The Flour Mill blog page is a great place for inspiration for small and micro business.
Good luck, and Merry Christmas!
