June 25th has come and gone, summer has just begun and Christmas is less than six months away, which also means that small business owners need to start planning for the holiday season.
Small businesses need to start planning now for the all-important holiday shopping season.
The importance of holiday shopping for retailers cannot be underestimated. According to a December 2023 survey from American Express, the holiday season is crucial for small businesses in terms of annual profitability. The AMEX Small Business Trendex survey found that two-thirds of small businesses rank the holiday season as important to their overall financial health. According to the survey, 71% have “increasing sales” as their primary goal, and 44% view the holiday shopping season as an opportunity to acquire new customers.
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“The final few months of the year are especially critical for small businesses to meet their full-year revenue goals,” said Anna Mars, group president, Global Commercial Services and Credit & Fraud Risk, American Express.
Given the importance of the holiday shopping season to small businesses, developing a holiday strategy now, well before December, can help you maximize year-end sales and profits.
1. Identify important dates, promotions, and special events
The holiday shopping season seems to be starting earlier and earlier. In many cases, stores transition from Halloween to the holiday season on November 1st. Sometimes, even earlier. In 2024, Black Friday is November 29th and Small Business Saturday is November 30th. So this year’s “official holiday shopping season” will be shorter. If you wait until that weekend to start your holiday promotions, it may be too late.
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Small Business Saturday will be Saturday, November 30, 2024.
Plan your promotions. What discounts will you offer on Black Friday? A special offer for Small Business Saturday? If e-commerce is important to your bottom line, plan something special for Cyber Monday, which falls on Monday, December 1 this year.
Cyber Monday began in 2005 when Shop.org, the online division of the National Retail Federation (NRF), came up with the idea as a way to encourage consumers to shop online. The Monday after Thanksgiving has quickly become a key shopping day for any online retailer. Since its launch almost 20 years ago, Cyber Monday has continued to grow to become the largest day of online shopping sales each year.
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2. Order your holiday inventory now
Ordering inventory for the holiday season requires careful planning and timing to ensure you have enough stock to meet demand without overstocking. Analyze data from past holiday seasons to identify trends and peak shopping periods. Then determine which products were most popular and how quickly they sold out. Consider how long it takes your suppliers to process and deliver your order. If you’re ordering goods manufactured in China or other countries, consider delivery times and allow extra time for possible delays.
July and August are the months when small business owners plan and finalize their inventory needs, especially for items with long delivery lead times. For items with standard delivery times, you can order all the way through September or October. However, if you know what you need through the summer, don’t wait too long and risk being locked out. You don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to get profitable products from your vendors.
Look at last year’s sales data to determine which products were best sellers. Use this to … [+]
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Ordering holiday inventory requires planning and funding. You may be able to negotiate better terms for your items if you order and pay far in advance. If you need inventory financing to purchase your holiday inventory, you can get financing from a variety of sources, including banks, credit unions, and online lending companies.
3. Use social media
Social media helps to increase brand awareness and visibility among a wide audience. Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly twitter) has millions of active users who visit the platform every day. Creating engaging and entertaining content can help expand your brand’s reach and drive sales when that content is shared by users. Overall, over 75% of businesses plan holiday-specific marketing campaigns during the holiday period using Facebook (82%), Instagram (63%) and YouTube (48%).
In addition to viral sharing, social media platforms offer relatively affordable advertising options compared to traditional media such as television, radio, print, etc. In fact, small businesses can run targeted ads on a relatively small budget.
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While Facebook is a great way to reach today’s Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, Instagram and TikTok are some of the most important ways to reach younger consumers who tend to spend hours on these platforms. Take the time to watch TikTok videos and observe popular trends, hashtags, challenges, and influencers.
Social media platforms such as TikTok and Facebook are important yet cost-effective applications. … [+]
The key to success on TikTok is to create short, funny, and visually appealing videos. Bonus points if you use humor effectively. Additionally, business owners can partner with influencers who align with their brand values. Influencers can help you promote your products or services in an authentic way, but they often come at a high cost. Keep this in mind when planning your budget.
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Additionally, business owners can take advantage of TikTok ads that appear in users’ feeds. For example, companies can sponsor branded hashtag challenges to encourage users to participate and increase brand awareness. As with any paid media, use analytics tools to track how your content is performing. Keep an eye on metrics like views, likes, shares, and comments. Then use these insights to refine your content strategy and focus on what resonates most with your audience.
Remember that you can cross-promote content across different social media platforms, so if you create an engaging video on TikTok, you can also share it on Facebook or X to expand your reach to a different audience. Be sure to familiarize yourself with these platforms before promoting your holiday offers. You can also embed your videos on your company website and in your marketing emails.
One of the keys to running a successful business is planning ahead, so start planning now for the holiday season: what you’ll offer, how much you’ll order, your inventory costs, and where and how you’ll promote your products during your peak sales time of the year.
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