Marketing Tips to Help you Prepare & Increase Christmas Sales for your Business

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Nigerian business owners, it’s almost time!

If there’s one thing that makes sales numbers go up right at the end of the year, it’s Christmas sales. Almost immediately after Black Friday sales, you have Christmas sales, and even New Year sales coming up. Christmas is one of the hottest periods for businesses, and a great opportunity to end the year with a high number of sales. Most people are shopping for gifts, and want to take advantage of deals, discounts and coupons, so it’s a great time to reel in new customers, get more visibility for your business and most importantly, earn more revenue.

This article will be a guide to help you set up everything you need to make your Christmas this year a massive success, from planning to execution. We’ll delve deep into:

1. How to start preparing for your Christmas & New Year sales.

2. Marketing strategies to make your Christmas sales campaign a success.

3. How to use Bumpa to get the best out of your Christmas sales campaign.

Most businesses start to prepare early for their campaign, so don’t think that you’re reading this article too early in the year! Instead, it is important to take note of what you need to start doing immediately. Remember, right after Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the next big thing is Christmas and if you wait till after then, you might not have enough time to plan a successful campaign. So make sure you start now!

How to Prepare for Christmas & New Year Sales

Just like everything else that goes well, planning is one of the most critical aspects of having a successful Christmas sales campaign. That is why it is important to start planning early, organise your inventory, think of campaign ideas and structure your Christmas campaign, prepare your marketing materials and lastly, make sure that your business website is fully capable of handling the traffic and is easy for customers to use.

1. Plan and Forecast

Analyse past sales data and trends to estimate demand and inventory needs for the upcoming Christmas season. Consider factors such as popular products that you have sold during the year, anticipated customer behavior, and any potential supply chain or shipping challenges. Use data like what customers buy the most, and the range of how much they spend to decide what kind of products would fit best for your campaign, and how you will price them.

Pro tip: You can use your Bumpa app to gather useful business insights into how your customers shop, where they shop from the most, and even your best-performing products!

2. Stock Management and Supply Chain

No one wants to hear ‘Sorry, we’re sold out!’ or even worse, ‘Sorry, but we’ll have to refund you because we’re out of stock!’.

Ensure you have appropriate inventory levels to meet increased demand. It is very important to avoid stockouts (running out of stock on an item) when you’re running your Christmas sales. To make it easier, you can use inventory management software to help you track and manage your stock with more ease. Establish good relationships with suppliers, anticipate lead times, and plan for potential delays.

Pro tip: You can track and manage your stock with the inventory management feature on Bumpa, and with the app, it’s even easier to track your inventory while you’re on the go.

3. Seasonal Product Selection

Curate a selection of products that align with the holiday season and are likely to appeal to your target market. Consider popular gift items, limited editions, or seasonal promotions that can capture customer attention. For example, if you sell clothes, consider matching Christmas-themed pyjamas for your period of Christmas sales, as they’re absolutely hot and in demand during the Christmas season in Nigeria.

4. Marketing and Promotion

Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy that encompasses various channels such as social media, email campaigns, website updates, and advertisements. Create engaging holiday-themed content, leverage persuasive messaging, and highlight special offers or discounts. We’ll detail how to use these marketing strategies to your advantage further down this article!

5. Online Presence and User Experience

Optimise your website and online store to accommodate increased traffic and facilitate smooth customer experiences. Ensure that your website is mobile-friendly, your checkout process is simplified, and load times are optimised. Consider implementing live chat or customer support options to address any inquiries promptly.

Pro tip: Your Bumpa website is fully-optimised for instant use, and also mobile-friendly. You can use the Paystack payment option at checkout, or also add a bank account for your customers to pay directly into your business account!

6. Customer Service and Support

Prepare your customer service team to handle increased inquiries and provide exceptional support during the busy season. Promptly respond to customer queries, offer gift wrapping services, and provide clear information about shipping deadlines and return policies.

Related: 10 Easy Tips on Improving Customer Service for Your Small Business

7. Festive Decorations

If you have a physical store, create a warm and inviting holiday atmosphere to enhance the shopping experience for customers, and the feel of the season. Even if only have an online business, you can still decorate your store with Christmas-themed designs, and make sure your social media is buzzing with Christmas-themed content.

The 13 Best Marketing Strategies for Christmas Sales Campaigns

Let's dive into some marketing techniques to boost your Christmas sales and make your bank account jingle all the way. Remember, you do not have to apply all these campaigns at once, but instead, choose the one that will best fit your business goals.

1. Limited-Time Offers

Create a sense of urgency by offering limited-time deals and promotions. Whether it's a flash sale, a 24-hour discount, or a countdown to Christmas, tapping into the fear of missing out can motivate customers to make a purchase.

Pro tip: Set up a discount or coupon for your customers by using Bumpa! It takes less than a minute and is instantly applicable.

2. Free Shipping or Gift Wrapping

Take the hassle out of gift-giving by offering gift-wrapping services. This can be a significant incentive for customers, as it adds value to their purchases and saves them time of having to wrap a gift during the busy holiday season. To complement this, you can also deliver for free, but maybe charge a little extra for gift-wrapping. Here’s a video on gift-wrapping to help you learn!

3. Upselling and Cross-selling

Maximise your sales opportunities by upselling your products, cross-selling related items or suggesting complementary products. For example, if a customer is buying new hair for Christmas, you could offer them a wig stand, or hair straightener along with the hair. Make sure your suggestions genuinely enhance their experience and bring holiday joy.

4. Create Festive Bundles

Bundle complementary products together and offer them at a discounted price. For instance, if you sell shoes, you could create ‘The Holiday Set’ and it could contain shoes, Christmas-themed socks, a shoe cleaning kit, some brand merch like a pop-socket, keychain, etc., and a personalised thank you note. These curated sets make gift shopping easier and more enticing for customers. Plus the thank you note is a great way to get people to take pictures and share on social media, giving your brand more visibility!

5. Loyalty Rewards

Reward your loyal customers during the holiday season with exclusive discounts, bonus points, or early access to sales. By showing appreciation for their constant support, you not only foster customer loyalty but also encourage repeat purchases during the festive period.

6. Retargeting Campaigns

Implement retargeting ads to remind customers about products they showed interest in but didn't purchase. Target them with personalised ads displaying those items or recommend similar products with a festive twist. This gentle nudge can bring them back to complete their purchase.

Pro tip: You can connect your Facebook pixel to your Bumpa app, and retarget every single customer who’s shown interest in your business with a quick deal to convert them!

7. Gift Cards and E-Gift Certificates

Promote the joy of giving by offering gift cards or e-gift certificates. Allow customers to purchase them for friends and family, spreading the love and driving future sales as recipients redeem their gifts. This is also a great way to introduce your business to an audience outside your already existing customers.

8. Holiday Gift Guides

Create gift guides to make shopping easier for your customers. Categorize your products based on themes like "Gifts for Him," "Gifts for Her," or "Gifts for the Family". Offer recommendations and highlight the unique features of each item. It's like having Santa's little helpers curate the perfect gifts for everyone!

9. Unwrapping Holiday Content

Create engaging and shareable content related to Christmas. It can be festive videos, DIY holiday decorations, gift-wrapping tutorials, or even a nostalgic holiday playlist (everyone in Nigeria loves Boney M!). Make your brand a part of your customers' holiday traditions and keep them entertained throughout the season.

10. Social Media Marketing

Leverage the power of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to reach and engage with your customers. Your social media marketing strategy could be to create festive content, run holiday-themed contests or giveaways, and share behind-the-scenes glimpses of your business preparing for the season.

11. Giveaways

Organise exciting Christmas giveaways or contests that encourage customer participation. Ask them to share their favorite holiday memories, caption a festive photo, or create user-generated content. The prizes can be products, discounts, or even a gift card to spread some holiday spirit.

12. Thoughtful Gifting

Surprise your loyal customers with small tokens of appreciation like personalised Christmas cards or holiday-themed discount codes. It's a festive way to show them you're grateful for their support and spread the holiday cheer.

13. Local Partnerships

Team up with other local businesses to cross-promote each other during the holiday season. You can run joint promotions, offer bundled gift packages, or organise seasonal events together. This not only expands your reach but also taps into the community spirit. Remember to consider a brand that complements yours perfectly.

How to Use Bumpa to Prepare for Your Christmas Sales

Bumpa is a great tool to help make the process of running a Christmas easy for you and for your customers as well. Here are the things you can do with your Bumpa app, in preparation for Christmas sales.

1. Upload products to your website. This helps you prepare your website for sales and is also a great way to keep track of all the inventory you have for your sales period.

2. Create a coupon or discount with your Bumpa app that is instantly applicable to the products you want to run sales on.

3. Send an email or SMS to your customers via the Bumpa app. This is a great way to share news about your discount or coupon and your sales campaign in general!

4. Add your Facebook pixel for easier retargeting of customers.

5. Your customers get an email any time they add an item to their cart but end up not paying, to nudge them to complete payment.

And lots more! You can send invoices and receipts, and add even more staff to help you process orders faster.

Get started on Bumpa with just 2,500 naira for the starter plan and 5,000 for the pro plan. Learn about more Bumpa features here.

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