Your Business Guide to Overcoming Post-Vacation Fatigue

It’s no wonder people buy more during the holiday season. A report from Adobe Analytics found that consumers spent $ 80.3 billion, and that was only online, from November 1 to December 6, 2018.

If you were lucky, your business enjoyed great seasonal success.

But whether you’ve made big profits or experienced a drop in holiday sales, there are ways to increase sales in January. I share 6 of my favorites:

1. Launch another sale.

While customers may feel post-holiday fatigue after an overwhelming number of Black Friday, Cyber ​​Monday, Christmas, and Boxing Day deals, you can still reach your target audience with a tempting winter sale.

Here’s a good example: Clothing and home retailer Anthropologie has a winter sale on all sale items. By taking another 40% off items that are already discounted, you attract customers and remove old stock to make room for new spring inventory.

Remember your fans are smart, so be authentic rather than simply putting up a sale sign on a poorly selling product or calling a small discount “winter clearance.”

2. Match New Years Resolutions.

Regardless of what product or service you sell, there is probably a way to tie in the “New Years, New You” angle.

A 2018 survey by Tangerine found that nearly 70% of Canadians have made resolutions. More than half of those surveyed focused on improving their physical health and almost a third wanted to improve their financial management.

So, start by thinking about how your product or service improves someone’s:

• Financial, personal or professional success

• Health or wellness

• Confidence or self-esteem

• Productivity

• Relations

Then think of ways you could incorporate New Year’s resolutions and goals into your sales schedule to avoid a drop in sales after the holidays. For example, we created a publication for one of our clients, using personal success in 2020 to drive sales of his book Crash Course in Human Resources for Small Businesses.

3. Create a buying guide or blog.

While we tend to give Christmas most of the attention, don’t forget that people want gift ideas all year long.

According to the 2019 Holiday Season Shopping Report, 47% of surveyed gift shoppers didn’t know what to buy. To turn browsers into clients at any time of the year, help guide your visitors. For example, you can create a list of the top 10 popular gifts for teens or moms, or highlight the best gifts for Father’s Day.

People will be less overwhelmed and more likely to add an item to their cart with a little guidance, which can really help you increase sales after the holidays.

4. Update your newsletter subscription.

With so much in the life of a small business owner, it can be easy to overlook this important marketing tool. Are you offering an ebook that has been available for years with a newsletter subscription, or are you promoting an outdated promotion?

Take a look at your email newsletter sign-up page and think about next year. Is there a way to make it more attractive to attract leads and sales?

Perhaps you can create new content, such as an ebook or video tutorial, or offer a free consultation.

5. Improve your social networks.

If you gave your social media accounts a Christmas flair, now is the time to remove the decorations, so to speak. Even if you didn’t add any Christmas flair, now is a great opportunity to reflect on the messages you are posting.

While you shouldn’t update your logo or branding just because it’s a new year, at least take a sweep of your social media to see if you need to change / add:

• Your business hours and location on Facebook and Google My Business.

• Old tweets pinned to your Twitter account.

• Images for Google My Business and Instagram.

• Profile photos for all your social media accounts.

While you could argue that this is not directly a way to increase sales after the holidays, you would be surprised! If you have old assets gathering dust or you can’t be bothered to swap out a Christmas banner on a social media platform, people will be wondering how efficient and reliable your small business is.

The right reasons to rebrand your company logo

Over time, your business will grow and evolve. You can offer new services or products, enter different markets, or target another demographic. If this happens, you may need to consider changing your marketing graphics.

However, you need to be careful not to undo all the hard marketing and branding work you have done and to fully understand how to rebrand for the most effective results. Read more on our website.

6. Get creative with celebrations throughout the year.

There is a long list of January “holidays” you can check online to help you get started. By taking note of relevant dates throughout the year, surely there are some fun ways to incorporate them into your marketing strategy.

You can offer a discount, gift, or promotion that is related to what you sell. Here’s a delicious example: Italian chain Carrabba’s Italian Grill celebrated National Pasta Day last year with a $ 10 pasta deal.

One of my favorite examples is what WWF did for World Penguin Day (April 25 is coming up!). They shared an informative article ‘The Top 10 Facts About Emperor Penguins’, with a call to action to ‘adopt’ one of these adorable skating birds.

We were so enthralled by this campaign, we adopted some ourselves! Since the emperor penguin is our official mascot, how not to do it!

No, we didn’t get our own penguin, but we did get a stuffed animal, regular updates, stickers, and other cool stuff to support the initiative.

There is no reason why you should wait and accept a post-holiday sales slump. While we tend to focus much of our marketing (and personal) energy on the holiday season, we must remember that our customers are still out there. They want to hear from us in a meaningful and relevant way.

With a little planning and creativity, you can overcome post-vacation fatigue and set your small business for a prosperous 2020.