Preparations for winter holidays seem to be getting earlier and earlier for everyone, including retailers and other businesses. For example, if you want go on a cruise to a warm destination, you can book a ticket right now. Early preparations also affect businesses that are non-seasonal. For example, if you are selling B2B software, you have to consider the holiday season beforehand because if you don’t, you might easily wind up initiating a big campaign that launches the day a majority of your clientele is out of town for a pleasant vacation.
The point being, if you want stay two steps ahead of your competitors you have absolutely no time to lose. Regardless of what form of business you are in, you have to still sell your products and services and take a piece of the holiday action home – in form of profits, of course.
In light of this, here are some reasons why and how you should prepare your business for the holidays:
Early Holiday Shoppers
According to a statistical survey undertaken by Accenture back in 2013, it was identified that 23% of all shoppers start spending their holiday budget in early fall. Moreover, three quarters of all shoppers get done with their shopping at the very end of November. This means you need to start hauling your business strategies to start the boat as early as you can so that you can sell as many products and services as you can until the end of November.
Getting Repeat Customers Early
As per the report posted by Constant Contact, it was revealed that small businesses benefit the most from preparing for early holiday season marketing. The report also mentioned that 52% of all customers that shop from various small retailers as a result of their marketing become repeat customers.
Budgeting Right at the Last Moment can Result in Losses
Last minute marketing campaigns can quickly diminish your budget for advertising and various marketing attempts. And this means you will probably have to cut back money meant for other key areas of the business, which can further lead to a risk of incurring losses. The best thing to do is spread your costs over a couple months leading to the entire holiday shopping spree.
Sources:
http://www.godigitalmarketing.com/pays-plan-holiday-marketing-strategy-august/
https://www.sba.gov/blogs/6-good-reasons-start-your-holiday-marketing-plan-now
http://www.modern87marketing.com/why-start-holiday-marketing-now/
