Getting Geared for Holistic Holiday Sales
Marketing advice for holistic, natural and organic retailers for the upcoming holiday season.
(PRWEB) October 4, 2004 -
The holidays are almost upon us, and for many, this is a "make-or-break" time for their business. Taking from my Girl Scout upbringing, success depends on being prepared -- here are some cost-effective ways to help you attract more customers to your business during the holiday season.
1. Giveaway and Receive. This season is the best time to hold a giveaway and collect names for your mailing list. The mailing list you can use all year long to continue touting your store, products and/or services.
2. Become a Gift Elf. Lots of time when a customer comes into your store, they find items they would love to receive themselves. Offer "Dear Gift Elf/Santa" forms and envelopes for customers to fill out. Then mail the wish list to the listed friends and family of the customer. This works to actually double your traffic, making your customer happy for getting a wanted gift and their family happy for buying a great gift. If you don’t have actual “foot traffic”, you might want to create a direct-mailed postcard and have them sign up on your web site. Start this early so people can really take advantage!
3. Celebrate all the seasons of December. Natural product customers are diverse in their faith so celebrating their holiday is a special way to stand out as a company that cares. This year, Hanukkah falls between Dec. 8-15, Kwanzaa is Dec. 26-Jan. 1, Winter Solstice is Dec. 21 and Christmas Day is Dec. 25. Set up product displays and offer specials geared to special days. Choose a universal charity for yourself and customers to support during the season.
4. Light the holiday spirit in your sales team. The holiday season generally means long hours and mayhem for your sales team. Light their holiday spirit early by throwing a special party for them before the season starts and provide daily and weekly incentives for good customer service.
5. Keep customer service alive. Gift wrapping, answering the phone in a cheerful manner, providing knowledge about a certain product and other helpful services to customers should continue throughout the holiday season. Smiles guarantee return customers throughout the year.
Need help with your marketing planning for the holidays and 2005? Jeny Dowlin, president of FreeSpirit Insight, has been providing marketing and communication strategies to companies for nearly a decade. FreeSpirit Insight, a strategic marketing and brand development agency specializing in talking to women 25-65, health-conscious, spiritual and environmentally-concerned audiences. Brochures, logos, newsletters, publicity, advertising and more. Visit me online at www. FreeSpiritInsight. com or drop me a line at info@freespiritinsight. com. Creating messages people hear.
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