It does not take an economist—or even a small business owner—to know the unfortunate truth about this year: among the many things, people, and places it has been bad for, small businesses rank pretty highly on the list.
Normal business has come to a standstill, and many shops have been forced to close their doors entirely, sometimes for months at a time. It’s been rough, doubly so if you had just started to get your business off the ground when this hit- or have tried to start it while the pandemic has been ongoing.
But through all this, there’s been a light in the darkness: the holiday season! That crucial period for businesses from the end of November throughout December when retailers and small businesses of all stripes make the big bucks. And there’s good news: Gallup recently reported that Americans are going to spend an average of $852 on Christmas gifts, ever so slightly higher than they did last year- which means spending is going to be effectively undaunted by the pandemic.
But here’s the question: how can YOU take advantage? Because while Americans are going to be spending some solid dough, if they do not hear about your business or your products, they are going to end up chucking it all at the big-box online retailers (read: not you). Traditional advertising campaigns may not work as well as they normally do- or will they?
Here, we figured we’d go through a couple ways you can beat the pandemic and get yourself some of that precious holiday cash.
Go Back to Advertising Basics
You’re a small business owner and folks are stuck in their houses. Some of the only excitement most folks have nowadays is getting the mail. Take advantage of it!
Modern marketing campaigns have mostly centered around the internet. This isn’t a surprise: campaigns through the internet can reach untold numbers of folks, are relatively easy to pull off, and can be instantaneous (new sale for tomorrow? Hundreds can know within an hour). From independent bookstores to presidential campaigns, online has been all the rage. But is there a benefit to be had to going back to the basics? We think so. Don’t us wrong- we are not trying to dismiss the importance of social media, and in fact will go into some social media strategies below.
For all of the press it got recently in the news, the postal service is still going along, and pretty handily at that. Take advantage of it! You’re a small business owner and folks are stuck in their houses. In some places, it’s basically illegal to leave short of walking your dog or for buying groceries. Some of the only excitement most folks have nowadays might literally be getting the mail!
And that’s where you come in. Make fun, catchy flyers (Microsoft Word has some really great and easy templates you can put together in almost no time at all, as do many other word processor programs if you don’t have access to Word itself). Include in some sort of code or coupon for your business (people like fun and catchy flyers, but you know what catches peoples’ eyes the quickest? Sales!). And mail them out! Envelopes are cheap as can be, and stamps aren’t exactly going to cost you an arm and a leg.
Concerned about paying for a ton of stamps? Then take a drive (that’s still legal!) to your local print shop (if you don’t want to print at home), print out a couple hundred copies, and just drop them off yourself in your neighbors’ mailboxes! No worries about hand-to-hand contacts (wear gloves if you feel better about it), you get your information out there, and you get a drive and some air at the same time!
If you only want to mail to a select group, then you should probably…
…Hit up the folks you’ve dealt with before!
What’s your small business equivalent of that movie which always makes you relaxed? It’s the customers you’ve already built up a relationship with, or interacted with at least once.
In times of uncertainty or instability, you fall back on what you know. When you’re feeling tired after a long week at work, you relax with a game you love playing, an album you love hearing, or a movie you’ve watched dozens of times.
Well, business isn’t that different. While risks are always essential for any business to be truly successful, sometimes taking a risk is…well, risky, for lack of a better word. And a pandemic is one of those times; with the holidays being so important, you don’t to blow the chance to recoup any cash you may have lost due to the craziness earlier this year.
So what’s your small business equivalent of that movie which always makes you relaxed (if you’re literally looking for a relaxing movie during the pandemic, we recommend “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” but that’s neither here nor there)?
It’s the customers you’ve already built up a relationship with, or even the ones you’ve interacted with at least once (and had positive interactions with). Do you run a business in which you usually see Person X twice a year, maybe in January and June? Well, why not contact them now and see if they’ll want to come in in December instead? Have some regular customers who you haven’t heard from in a bit? Send them your flyers- maybe personally customized.
For those of you who are relatively new to this business (pun very intended), it can sometimes seem daunting to press some of your older clients. You don’t want to seem pushy, you don’t want to come across as desperate? That’s fair. But you know what is a lot worse? Not having enough money to stay afloat. Besides, it’s very possible that your clients are going to be happy you contacted them. Remember: Americans are going to spend as much money as last year, if not more- and that was in one of the best economies in recent years! There is money that is going to be spent, and some of that can go to you- but you have to put in the work of going out and finding it.
Embrace Modernity
Someone is going to go to your business’ Insta, see a single post, and go back to watching Chunk the Groundhog eat cute things in his garden. You have to work to keep folks’ attention.
Now, traditional mail campaigns are pretty useful, as we said above. But look, folks- there’s a reason that social media has taken off the way it has when it came to campaigns, political and advertising alike. The ability to reach huge amounts of people with a couple clicks of a button is too useful to ignore.
But the one issue is, a lot of folks don’t know how to use it. This is understandable- it’s a skill, and some people are better at it than others. Take advantage of some people’s skills. There are all sorts of online one-off classes or consultations you can make with social media managers or experts to get tips and tricks, and they (especially the one-off classes) are not really going to break the bank.
But even without some expert advice, there are still all sorts of ways to advertise your business. For one, take full advantage of the fact that almost all social media is free. Do you have an Instagram account for your business (not a personal one, but a business one)? If not, get one. Have a business Twitter? A Facebook page? Do it all. Don’t slack on that. And actually upkeep it! Don’t create these pages and then have like, one post. Someone is going to go to your business’ Insta, see a single post, and go back to watching Chunk the Groundhog eat cute things in his garden. You have to work to keep folks’ attention.
And in terms of advertising? Post on your personal page. Advertise. Even if it only gets you a couple hundred followers to begin with, that’ll be a base from which to jump.
Now, once it takes off, it can take up a ton of your time. You’ll want to find ways to manage all of your accounts. One way you can do it is if you go through your virtual telephone system. Some systems like MightyCall’s allow you to oversee your social media messages from a central hub, making it easier for you and your employees to respond to what will (hopefully!) be a torrent of interest!
So whether you go with traditional advertising or something new…
…go with something! Do not let the pandemic or the cold get you down. These winter months will be absolutely key for small businesses like yours- don’t waste them staying inside, hoping that clients find you. Pandemics haven’t changed this key facet of business or advertising: clients won’t find you (at least, not always- sometimes you’ll simply get lucky). You’ll have to find them. And be it through snail mail or through social media, uh, mail, you’ll have to take full advantage of your opportunities – of which there are plenty!
So stay safe and stay healthy – but stay hungry.
