In a country as vast as India, colourful and diverse festivals and celebrations are an integral element of the year. These festivals are not only a time of celebration, but also a season when businessmen actively prepare for the season and try to maximise their profits. Promotions, discounts, emails and many unexpected marketing strategies make these festivals even more interesting. With the major festivals just around the corner, here are some simple, quick and easy to implement holiday marketing strategies to help small businesses boost their sales. :- www.deekpay.com

The study found that spending during the festive season starts in October, not November.

So think smart about these seven holiday marketing strategies (for both B2B and B2C businesses) to make a sweet profit this holiday season!

1. Send customised holiday greetings emails

Imagine your favourite brand sending you a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a basket of exotic chocolates and a handwritten holiday greeting card. How would you feel? Wouldn't it feel special? Treat your clients and partners as if they were members of your extended family! Draft a beautiful email and spoil them with a customised holiday greeting, gift basket or coupon (if not at their address, in their mailbox). This will make your customers more sensitive to your business presence and spread word of mouth in their neighbourhood and circle of friends, which will increase your customer base and profits. Here's a precise resource on how to write effective sales emails. If you think you need to improve your email writing skills, then read these five ways to improve your business emails.

2. Getting creative with social media

Social media and websites are where customers and partners first discover and learn about you. Maintain your online presence, especially with social media updates and ideas.

A simple holiday greeting post may also have a big impact on your followers. It conveys a sense of caring.

Image source: PayUmoney's Facebook

Run competitions to increase engagement and interact directly with your audience. If you think "contest" means giving prizes to the winners, then yes, that's exactly what I'm asking you to do. Prizes don't have to be expensive. You can invest a small amount of money, but the return you get is priceless! Remember this is a one-time expense.

If a "contest" still doesn't seem like a good idea, make a testimonial video of your client or partner and post it on your social media channels. Testimonial videos include your customers' or partners' experiences and what they think of your business. This will add value to your business in the long run. You can tag your clients or partners in the video, description or comments as an icing on the cake!

3. Provision of samples and discounts

Today, we live in a trial economy where everything needs to be tried before it is purchased. In supermarkets, you may have noticed several salespeople offering free tasters of specific food products. This allows people to experience the product first and then make a buying decision. Basically, by introducing trials for your products, you are inviting people to judge your products. This, in turn, helps you understand what your customers really want and create the right product.

Discounts and promotions during the festive season are one of the favourite tactics of marketers. E-commerce businesses take full advantage of this: big holiday sales, holiday frenzies and other tactics are introduced to get more attention. Additionally, consumers often save up their pocket money for "sales" during the festive season. Take advantage of this strategy for your small and midsize business (SMB).

List all holidays (big and small)

Mention the product you want to discount

Disseminate information about these products via email, social media, phone calls, text messages, etc.

Let your consumers try your product first

Follow these key points

4. Participation in online and offline community markets

Community marketing is a very prominent part of digital marketing. Previously, offline communities came in the form of flea markets, exhibitions, town hall markets and so on. Nowadays, all these communities have settled online.People on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest come from all walks of life, from all countries and form communities of common interest.

For example, communities like Social Pop Shop or Social Crafts are created for people who want to sell or showcase talents related to community interests.

Social Pop Shop - Lifestyle

Social Crafts - Crafts/Art

5. Planning a simple customer journey

The journey determines what is delivered next to your customers in the form of communication. This could be an engaging post on your social media channels, a follow-up email or text message, a push notification of a new product update, or a simple banner or pop-up on your website. This journey needs to be part of an overall campaign that allows consumers to learn about your product on different platforms at the same time.

Make sure you don't bombard them with messages as this will increase your risk of spam rather than increase your business. Choose the best channel and send updates to consumers at the right time.

6. Smartly cross-sell and up-sell your products

If a consumer wants a notepad, what's the harm in pushing them to buy a super-smooth, high-quality pen? Cross-selling and up-selling is one of the keys to unlocking the strings of increased sales. You're familiar with the concept of BOGO (buy one get one free) or BOGF (buy one get one free). That's what up-selling is. Cross-selling is selling a pen next to a notepad. Your consumers are always looking for convenience. Sell them your product conveniently.

7. Advertise wisely

Myth: Advertising is expensive and only suitable for large corporations.

MYTH BUSTING: Small businesses can also utilise advertisements for as low as Rs. 100 - 500!

Digital advertising is not as expensive as traditional advertising (newspaper, radio, billboards, etc.). You can spend wisely by running the lowest budget test ads first. Depending on the response, increase your budget to the best (at your discretion) and increase your business visibility.

For example, if you spend Rs. 500 (consider this a high value), you can reach about 1000 - 2000 viewers at a time.

To maximise your marketing results on social media, discover the common Facebook advertising mistakes you should avoid.

With increasing competition, several companies are offering similar products with improved price, quality or features. In this case, the holidays are a popular season for marketers to promote their products. In this crowded economy, these seven holiday marketing strategies are subtle but can have a huge impact on your audience's (near) future. Make the most of these holiday marketing strategies to boost your marketing results and sales during the holiday season!

Having an all-in-one payment solution is also a good idea while getting all the marketing ready for your business. Now, enjoy the best payment gateway experience and grow your business with ease!