Merry Christmas- The most popular season is approaching and although some may avoid winter, we all want to be part of the Christmas festivities. Gifts, dinners, visiting the family; In short, the holiday season is the time of the year with the greatest commercial activity and also, an increasingly larger offer and for each type of business.
For any entrepreneur or business hunter, the holiday season is an excellent date to start from scratch. And now, with the rise of the Millennial lover of “home-made” products, you’ll surely start selling more than you expected.
Business to undertake in your Merry Christmas
In this case dear readers, I have not structured an order by popularity. But calm, are small businesses whose sales could generate within your own social circle . In addition, because they require little capital to start, you can begin to acquire the necessary products and build your portfolio before the competition.
As a gift, I have left you a couple of tutorial videos and explanatory articles so that you can learn some techniques, design and tools that will make your small business the best option for Christmas.
Gift decoration
It is tradition to say Merry Christmas with a gift. However, many forget to buy it on time to wrap it at home or are terrible at crafts. With a little creativity, paper and scissors you can put together everything you need to decorate gifts.
You could offer your services in stores, shopping centers or squares in your community (although you will need a permit for street vending). You could also wrap custom-made for companies, family or friends.
Decorative handicrafts
At Christmas there are so many, but so many ways to decorate that good , creativity will be your main element . You can make from baskets, crowns, mini Christmas trees, dolls with messages of Merry Christmas and stop counting.
The initial investment is small and you can sell them on your own Facebook for your friends or offer them at fairs and shopping centers. Here you can learn how:
Personal Buyer
It will sound strange why someone would hire another to look for their gifts? But in reality, it is a very popular modality in the United States as an option for those who detest the Christmas bottleneck.
You could offer your services through social networks, ads in the press or even, word of mouth among your friends. Do not forget to highlight your potential clients that eliminating the stress of the season, Christmas is a walk.
Christmas Baskets
Perhaps the gift with the highest demand from offices and companies . Christmas baskets are gifts for the whole family, ideal for entertaining employees, partners, shareholders and customers at the end of the year.
You could buy baskets for dozens of different sizes or dare to make them yourself (much cheaper). In addition, you must make a list of products with which the basket will count, such as: wines, chocolates, cheese or fruit. Offer different prices according to the size and content of the basket and present them in the offices before the holiday season begins.
Organization of Christmas dinners
As usual, many companies and companies hold Christmas dinners for their favorite clients, investors or employees . Being an organizer of Christmas dinners will not make you a chef in charge, but you should look for different restaurants or rental spaces for celebrations and take care of every detail :
- Invitations
- Catering
- Waiters
- Drinks
- Christmas Menu
- Decor
If you are a good host, then know who of Merry Christmas and coordinate your small business.
Typical Christmas food on request
Now, if yours is the kitchen, you can offer typical Christmas food on request, ideal for dinners and family gatherings . Housewives will be your main objective and although it will be difficult to compete against their recipes, your strong point is to remove a burden from them during the preparations for your family parties.
The best thing in these cases is that you work together with an assistant . Generally, orders for Christmas dinners are extensive and you will need someone to keep an eye on the oven while the deliveries are being made.
Christmas decoration service
The shops of the shopping centers require someone who can properly adorn their showcases and, when it comes to Christmas, decoration is the main theme of the season . You can also offer your services to:
- Offices
- Restaurants
- Cafes
- Individuals
If you have a good eye for design and you know how to get decorative items at a low price, surely you will do well with your Christmas decoration service.
Elaboration of Christmas cards
A simple way to say Merry Christmas is by sending a Christmas card. In addition, they are the perfect complement for any type of gift, providing that personal touch.
Some clients may request that you are also in charge of writing the Christmas card, but do not worry, if you have a nice calligraphy.
Organization of holidays
Hotels, restaurants, bars and nightclubs are looking for someone to hold their Merry Christmas and New Year’s party. Take care to put together a portfolio with numbers of table services, catering, bartender and waiters to offer timely budgets according to the size of each party.
Being a party organizer also entrusts you to oversee the development of each event, so you must surely spend the holidays away from your family and friends, but fortunately, on those dates you can charge up to three times per night!
Pet care
Many people will leave the city to see their loved ones, but they will need someone who can take care of their little friends. Pet care will require a space suitable to cover a certain number of pets and you will need to check the possible restrictions of domestic animals that your locality presents.
However, pets have become part of the family of their owners, so you can surely get a good deal for each hairy one you care for during the holidays.
Extra Homemade Toys
There is something in the handmade details with which the big toys will never be able to compete and they are the materials, the unique touch and its homelike appeal. Handmade toys are a legend today, but they maintain the active interest of the current consumer because they are local and little “commercial” ventures.
There are different types of homemade toys. However, among the most popular will always be the typical wooden cars and figures in recycled material.
To achieve our main goal (to generate extra income to help us start our big idea), you will need to be aware that the money you receive for each sale must be invested . A few months ago I wrote an article about how daily savings can help you generate the capital you need, take a look.
Now, it will not do any good if we save and manage small businesses to achieve great entrepreneurship if we still do not know how much we need. In that case, I recommend reading this guide to calculate the initial investment cost that you will require.
Marketing ideas for Merry Christmas business
CHRISTMAS DECORATION
Shops decorate with Christmas motives as this encourages consumption, so if you have never thought about decorating your office or your business … start thinking about it because this has a direct impact on the level of sales.
ADVENT CALENDAR
The second idea is what I find more original and I know you will love it! it’s about making an advent calendar. The advent calendars are like boxes with a calendar where you open some little doors to eat a chocolate every day. But this calendar is not the one we are going to use, but we are going to take the concept of advent calendar and we are going to transform it into our business world.
There are two ways to do it:
On-line: Every day you will give something of value to your users so that they go to your website every day with the desire to see what you are going to give that day and in that way it will be a sort of advent calendar but online.
You are giving away little things every day but always from your website. The gifts could be: a small discount, an eBook, a piece of information, etc.
Offline: If you have a local business you can do the same but in your physical trade, it is about attracting visitors to your store every day because every day you will give them something different.
One day you can make a discount of 5%, another day 10%, maybe another day reward you with a small gift after your purchase, each day will be a gift or a different offer.
That people want to go every day to your trade because maybe the offer of tomorrow is better than today, is more … if there is a day when you say “I throw the house out the window. “All at 50% !!, or a day when you make some very beast discount or some very attractive gift, if it is a local business what will be generated is word of mouth.
A neighbor will tell another, he will tell the brother, the brother the woman, the woman the son. Thanks to that mouth ear that day people will go much more to your trade, which is what interests you since you will increase sales.
DECORATE OUR WEB
Decorating our website with Christmas motives is good because so people who access your website see something different, you can change your slide by putting something fun, for example a photo of your team with Christmas hats … anything that people see that you have adapted your website at this Christmas season.
SEO SEM IN CHRISTMAS
At Christmas you have to take into account the SEO and the SEM, Google searches at Christmas change.
It is not the same that you have done SEO on your website or that you have active Adwords campaigns for specific keywords because if you look at the keyword planner in Google Adwords you will see that in the months of December and January there are some searches that change.
But it’s normal … we’re not going to find a swimsuit to go to the beach if we’re in December unless you’re going on vacation to Cuba !!
The idea is that we try to find these searches that are generated more at Christmas and adapt our online strategy to these new Christmas searches.
OFFER A FREE CONSULTING
If you are a service company, you will know that people want to plan the new year.
Whatever your service company, be it for B2B or B2C companies or engineering … you can give them that free consulting to plan the new year.
I’m sure it will generate more sales because you are planning your future for free but in that future you will need as a service provider. I insist that it is a very interesting marketing strategy for service companies.
VIDEO FOR CHRISTMAS
The sixth idea that I find super interesting is to make a specific video for Christmas, as I have done mine.
I recommend you make a funny Christmas video; to send it to your clients, to put it on the web, or to use it in any marketing strategy or any marketing communication. And you’ll see your customers will love it!
SEND CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER
The seventh idea is to send a Christmas newsletter , before letters were sent, everyone sent Christmas postcards and now we have it easier and even cheaper by sending a newsletter.
I know there are people who do not, but it is the way to be in contact with your clients or potential clients that are in your database if you have not communicated with them throughout the year.
It is the perfect excuse to be in contact, congratulating Christmas, and in that newsletter you can offer any offer or any communication that interests you taking advantage of the excuse to congratulate Christmas.
GIVING A SURPRISE ENVELOPE
During a few specific days of this Christmas give a sealed envelope that can not open until January , or the month that interests you most. This works very well since January after kings the sales go down a lot especially if you are a local business and what you are interested in is attracting people to your business in those times.
What you are interested in is selling more in times when sales are lower so what we are going to do is give people who buy a sealed envelope at Christmas where inside the envelope there is a surprise gift , and inside the about there may be several gifts some small but others may be good gifts, to see this gift they will have to return to the store another day and open it in front of you so you can see what gift is and can give it.
I recommend not to force them to make a purchase to give them the gift because if they are already in your trade the vast majority will buy, since they are there they will end up buying other things or at least you make sure that they enter the shop to charade and if they they like something they are going to buy.
For the opening of this surprise envelope always wait for the time that most interests you because you have less sales and above all the envelope is sealed so that they can not see what is inside because if they see it and are not interested the gift is not going to go.
You have to use the surprise factor, the … “I do not know what’s inside the envelope and I’m dying to know it, so I’ll wait for January or February and I’ll go there to have it opened and see what they give me”
BENEFICIAL WORKS
Christmas is a time that awakens many emotions in us, so it is one of the times in which more charitable works are made, and it is precisely the idea that I want to transmit to you, that you give something, that you participate in some charitable cause.
Obviously this will help the image that gives your company or your brand (corporate social responsibility), but above all do it because it is important that a part of your profits always go to charity.
SOCIAL NETWORKS
The last idea is related to social networks. Christmas is a perfect time to generate much more engagement in social networks , not only to post different things but to make others participate, with which you could do countless contests where people can participate.
Finally, congratulating the parties can be the perfect excuse to reconnect to that client who has not known anything for some time. Or write to potential clients and remind them that your company is here for what you need. So it is important that you take advantage of this opportunity to resume communication and reinforce the brand image of your small business. For this, you can pull the typical corporate e-mail with an image / postcard attached. But if you really want Merry Christmas your small business and your congratulations to surprise.
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