5 Tips for Small Business Holiday Sales

1. Tap into Online Markets and Webstores
Setting up an online store and selling on marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, and Walmart and webstores like Shopify are fast and easy ways to find new customers before the holiday rush. Rural small businesses are already leveraging e-commerce to sell their products far beyond their local areas. Check out our recent roundtable we hosted with tips from other small businesses on how to start selling on Amazon and making the most of it.

2. Advertise Online
Investing in digital ads can help you reach more customers cheaply and at their convenience. They allow you to find potential customers who are more likely to love what you offer and purchase it as a gift for themselves or a loved one. Digital ads featuring holiday specials can bring people to your website to make purchases and offer small businesses an affordable way to expand their customer base.

3. Leverage Analytics
A major benefit to using digital advertising is all the free data and analytics from platforms like Google. The data they provide can help you discover which ads work best for which audience, where to improve, and how to decrease conversion costs. Check out this tutorial on how to maximize web analytics.

4. Host a Holiday Event
People love to socialize and shop. If you’re a local store with a brick-and-mortar, trying out an in-person “Sip and Shop” may bring in new customers right in time for the holiday season! If you’re exclusively online, offer some early bird holiday discounts. Whatever you do – get it in before people get bogged down by holiday parties & Santa sales!

5. Find Where to Improve
Even small businesses that use all the incredible digital tools at their disposal can still improve their online presence. Did you know that 3C offers a digital assessment tool that can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses as an online business? Using this tool will put you on a one-way street to sales.