We’ve said it once (or really, multiple times) in the past and we’ll say it again: the holiday season is an incredibly important time of the year for small businesses, particularly the retail industry. Back in 2012, according to the National Retail Federation, holiday sales in November and December accounted for some 19.3 percent of total retail industry sales nationwide. Depending on what type of business you own, that number can rise as high as 40 percent – double the number of sales. Really, there is quite a bit of economic opportunity to be capitalized on during this festive time of year.
Trusted Invoice Factoring Solutions For Small Businesses
So, needless to say, it’s important for retailers to use all of their tools and ammunition available to draw in more customers and business. What’s important to consider, however, is that using any of these tools incorrectly might be worse than not using them at all. That’s why, in today’s blog post from The Commercial Finance Group, our Atlanta small business lenders are going to go over some common small business holiday marketing mistakes. Yes, this is a relatively niche topic to cover, but if you really think about it, marketing before and during the holiday season is vitally important for small businesses around the United States and the world.
The Commercial Finance Group helps solve complicated cash flow issues with effective cash flow solutions like invoice factoring, factored accounts receivable services, and other forms of money factoring. So, if you don’t have enough working capital to run your business or finance expansions, we can help you and your company that you’ve worked hard to build. Get in touch with our Atlanta lenders today with any questions.
Mistake: Overlooking The Importance Of Mobile Sales
The reality of today’s modern economy is that consumers want to be able to make purchases wherever and whenever they’d like. To do this, consumers are increasingly relying on mobile devices to access various products and services. By making your ecommerce store mobile friendly and easily accessible, you’re sure to get more sales around the holiday season. Having a holiday theme added to your website and making the theme mobile friendly is also a nice plus for consumers, showing that your business cares about the holiday season.
Mistake: Discounting Products Or Services Too Early
For both ecommerce and brick and mortar retailers, early sales and massive discounts to attract early business might be tempting, but tread with caution. Small businesses hoping to compete with large industry leaders are especially guilty of this. Now, while discounts may spark more sales, your profit margins are bound to take a hit by the season’s end. In planning for the holiday season, think about the entire season, and remember that holiday sales are made in high volume right up until the end, so don’t panic and pull out the red sales tag too early.
Have confidence in a well-timed, well-executed sales plan, be patient, and you and your business will be rewarded.
Mistake: Falling Off The Consumer Radar In January
It’s true that the holiday season ends on the final day of December (some say right after Christmas and others say that it ends right after New Years, we’ll leave that point of contention up to the reader), but the last thing that you want for your business is to lose all of the momentum that you’ve created just because the calendar is turning. Indeed, if you’ve worked hard and played it smart, you’ve most likely generated a large number of new customers. You should let this new customer base know that you value their business.
Keeping new customers engaged – and old customers, for that matter – is crucial to securing repeat business. The idea is to build a healthy relationship between you and your customers, a healthy dialogue that encourages feedback and improvement. By reaffirming their decision to purchase from you and your company, you’ll be able to lock down on a number of returning customers throughout the year.
Mistake: Not Sending Thank You Cards To Loyal Customers
To piggyback off of our last point, securing repeat business is greatly supplemented by sending out thank you cards at the end of the calendar year or shortly after New Years. Yes, Thanksgiving may be well over at this point of the year, but the end of the year (and the beginning of a new year) is a time of reflection for many people, including your customers. While reaching out to loyal clients and customers isn’t necessarily required, even a quick, personalized note thanking them for their business can help build that crucial relationship between customer and business.
Mistake: Not Engaging With The Community In Social Media
If you have people commenting on your social media posts but your brand is not replying or engaging with your audience, then you’re doing it wrong. During the holiday season, people are ready to buy in both B2B and B2C industries, and their engagement on your social media posts can hold a lot of weight in their purchasing decision. If you’re not around to answer a question about a free trial or a product demo, for example, this really looks bad for your business.
Operate With Plenty Of Working Capital This Holiday Season
If you have concerns about your working capital during the holidays, The Commercial Finance Group can help you. Backed by years of experience, our Atlanta small business lenders can assist you with our account receivable factoring services like invoice factoring and more. Contact our factoring company today!
