December is just around the corner! The most festive month of the year marks the season for people to spend money on gifts for their loved ones and friends.

Amid the economic impact of the global pandemic, many people are still keen to support local businesses. In a study of 2,000 people conducted by Groupon, they found out that 75% plan to support local merchants as much as possible once restrictions get lifted.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) also launched ‘Buy Local, Go Local’ campaign to help micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) like you bounce back in the new normal.

To maximize these opportunities, you need to prepare not just your online store but also your entire business. Here are some effective and proven strategies to increase your sales this holiday season.

1. Create a holiday or festive vibe

Preparing a festive-based promotion can help your customers when it comes to their purchasing decisions. Create holiday visuals and content for your online store to catch the attention of your prospects and customers.

Holiday content and visuals you can work on:

• Holiday recipe. Perfect for restaurant owners!
• Holiday gift guides. From gift guides for family, friends, kids to a more specific target like millennial artists.
• Holiday flair. Use holiday backgrounds or stickers for your visuals. Canva has a lot of free holiday designs that you can explore for your brand!

There is a lot of content and visuals that you can play around with. If you are looking for more pegs, you can explore Pinterest platform.

Work with your team so you can plan and execute your holiday-based strategies well.

Also read: Is your business holiday ready? These 5 practical tips will help you get prepared

2. Maximize social media channels

People are now more active online than ever, so you have to make sure that your products or services get noticed particularly for those potential customers whose wallets are ready for their holiday purchases.

How to prepare your social media channels this holiday:

• Create a social media calendar.  In this way, you can see your promotions in a bird’s eye view. Check your analytics or insights to see the best time for posting.
• Prepare your holiday branded images. You can explore Canva or Pinterest for pegs or inspirations
• Have a compelling call-to-action (CTA). Make sure that your objectives are aligned with your CTA. If it’s to shop on your store, review your captions if it’s appealing enough.
  
  Practical Tip: Go to your favourite online store and online marketplace, review their content or copywriting. Study them and observe what words or phrases that persuade you to shop. Of course, no to plagiarism!
  
  
• Review your content and product descriptions – Use words that make people buy.
  
  Here are some words that are proven to help your copy more effective: You, trusted, affordable, gift, discount, limited edition, special, last chance, first, fast, easy
• Optimized landing page. Are you redirecting your customers to your online store? Make sure your links are working well for efficient customer experience.

Also read: Create your online store on UnionBank GlobalLinker for free

3. Launch a holiday package for your products or services

Are your products holiday ready? One thing that can help you in increasing sales is to approach your product or services as a gift package.

• For food businesses. Package your food products into a holiday gift set. Come up with jaw-dropping food visuals with a touch of holiday. If you’re targeting a specific audience, make sure your content or caption is aligned to their behaviour for better conversion.
• For travel businesses. With easing restrictions, you can launch a holiday giveaway. Ask your followers to like your page and tag their friends on your holiday promo. In this way, you can increase your followers while widening your reach.

Give your customers a compelling view on why your products are gift-worthy. Don’t hard sell; tell a story! For example, tell the story of the person who would love your products.

4. Harness your promotions with ‘Buy Local, Go Local’ campaign

People feel good when they help. You can leverage on this messaging that by supporting your business, they don’t only support a local business, but they also help the economy recover from the pandemic.

Ideas you can explore when you leverage on ‘Buy Local, Go Local’ campaign

• Tell the story of your local suppliers. What is it made for? Who made your products?
• Tell the story of how your business started. Share your dream. Sell the vision of your business. Why did you start your business?
• Tell how unique your products are. What makes your products stand out? Tell it!

5. Partner with other local businesses

Collaborate with your fellow local business owners that can complement your products. This is proven to widen your reach and online presence. You can also pitch your collaboration to local influencers or media to make some noise.

This holiday season can be a little bit tight due to the impact of the global pandemic, but these strategies don’t cost much. If you need a boost to your working capital, SeekCap offers short-term loan to meet your business needs. You can apply here.

Also read: Are you looking to pay of your employees and vendors to get back on track?

Keep working on your creativity and strategies to make the best out of this holiday season!

Don’t have an online store yet? You can create your online store on UnionBank GlobalLinker for free!