Five ways to ramp up your holiday sales

With the holidays approaching, there’s no time like the present to think about how to market your business to new and existing customers. Ready to ramp up your sales? Try these five quick tips for making a lasting impression this holiday season:

1. Beef up your customer service. There’s no quicker way to turn away customers than with poor or nonexistent customer service. Include contact phone numbers and email addresses on your Website that make it easy for customers to get in touch with you regarding ordering questions and other needs. Even if your customer service department is just you, answer phone calls and emails like a big business — professionally and courteously, with a goal of solving the customer’s problem and ensuring they come back for repeat business.
2. Let them know you care. Customer appreciation emails that include a promotional offer “just for VIPs” make customers feel special. Send a few of them throughout the holiday season — say, offer $25 toward a future purchase with any purchase of $100 or more. Make sure they are limited-time offers that take place during the holiday season so customers sense the urgency in taking advantage of the deal.
3. Use social media. Use Facebook, Twitter and other social networks to announce special promotions and capture new email addresses. Start conversations that spark interest among your audience and get your customers talking about your brand.
4. Reach out to inactive customers. Do you have some customers who haven’t bought from you in a while? Tell them you miss them with a special email offer during the holidays. If the deal is good enough, they might come back and become active customers again.
5. Cross-promote. Work with another local business to cross-promote offers in your newsletters or in-store locations. A bakery could team up with a coffee shop, for example, so the businesses can offer a special discount to one another’s customers.

Simple yet effective, these five tips will give you the extra push you need to increase your sales during the holidays and beyond.