How To: Prep Your Business Online for the Holiday Season

how-to-prep-your-business-for-the-holidays
The other day I was driving home and noticed a few houses with their Christmas lights up… I thought to myself that it was so early to do this.. then I realized that stores had Christmas supplies out back in October before Halloween was over.  I guess its all about selling and marketing the upcoming season. This inspired me to write about how business owners can prep their business for the upcoming ‘Winter/Christmas/Holiday’ Season.

Your online presence is so important these days, if you’re not online, you maybe left behind. Keep in mind that if you need to print off material to mail out, or are offering coupons, this should have been done but now, but its never too late!

I recommend looking at what your competition is doing (or isn’t doing) and then think about what sets your business apart from theirs. Why should I shop from you and not your competitor? Is it your service? Your Price? The Quality? maybe you have great reviews! Maybe you have zero reviews and want to promote an offer that allows your customers to give you a Googe+ or Yelp review in order for them to receive a coupon or discount!  If you don’t have an online presence for example  website, Facebook/Twitter/Google+/LinkedIn page etc…, you should really consider looking into it. I say this not to sound like a ‘sales man’, but because there are several thousand searches every second happening online, and you may be losing your customers to your competitor. If you’re unsure where to start, have a look through our previous blogs, I’m certain you will find tips to get you started. Regardless of who you build your website with, we give out the tips because we’ve met with several businesses that have been scammed or lied to and are either stuck with a big bill, a bad site or sometimes both.

Facebook and Twitter have great SEO, this means that your Pages may rank higher if someone is Googling your business name. Change your home page slider image theme to resemble the upcoming season, Christmas is just around the corner, have a look at what are going to do next week. People love to see you’re updating your site, and into the holidays! 

Be sure to follow the specs to ensure your page looks professional, remember to post about the changes too! Tweet about your Facebook page, and post about your google+ page and vice-versa.  

We all know people spend money before, during and after the holidays, think about discounts, promos or give-aways to engage your potential clients! Offering something like 2 for 1 when you share your Facebook page, or Free shipping on orders more then $$$ is a good start.

The more you get your customers involved, the more likes and followers you’ll get. That said, be sure to be socially active and get your current audience to spread the word! Have a look at Socialdrop.com, this is a great start-up company that offers local businesses the chance to create their own discount and/or coupon for their clients to claim; the key to claiming the coupon is to share it on your Facebook wall… thats it, simply post it to your wall, and you receive the coupon.  

Many businesses forget that people love to buy, they hate to be sold something*Little Red Book of Sales**
Don’t push your product/service down your customers throat… instead provide value! Some questions to think of:
Why is your product good? 
Why do I want it? 
How will I benefit from this? 

Give them value first!

Another great way to promote your business is to Give Back. This is something that can lead to great PR and most of all, is a great act of kindness. Helping Families in Need is the society that we support locally. We are very thankful for Ray and his crew for all the hard work they do to provide to the families over the holidays. Think about that $4 drink/coffee your having, that could be a couple of loaves of bread, cans of beans, mac and cheese etc… $4 goes a long way when spent right.
Be sure to contact us if you need any help with the above or via Facebook and Twitter