How to plan a holiday promotion for a small business
Most holiday offers fail because they start in December. Here is a simple six week plan: one offer, one page, a few emails and posts, and a way to tell if it worked.
Every year the same thing happens. The holidays arrive, you mean to run something, and by the time you have decided what, it is the second week of December and your customers have already spent their money somewhere else.
A good holiday promotion for a small business is not complicated. It is one clear offer, one page that explains it, and a handful of messages sent at the right times. Here is how to plan one in an afternoon and run it without it taking over your season.
When should a small business start planning a holiday promotion?
Start planning a holiday promotion six to eight weeks before you want the first sale, which for a Black Friday or early December offer means early to mid October. Customers start comparing options in November, and an offer that appears the week before Christmas is competing with every big retailer’s final push.
Six weeks gives you time to decide the offer, build the page, write the emails and posts, and still send the first message early enough that people can plan around it. Anything shorter usually means the offer goes out once, late, and quietly.
What makes a good holiday offer?
A good holiday offer is simple enough to explain in one sentence and protects your margin. “Book a winter tune up before December 15 and get the second unit half price” works. “Up to 30 percent off selected services, terms apply” does not, because nobody can tell what they are actually getting.
Some offer shapes that work well for local businesses:
- Gift cards with a bonus. Buy 100 dollars, get a 20 dollar bonus card for January. It brings money in now and a visit back in your slowest month.
- Bundles. Two services or products together at a better price than separately. Easier on margin than a straight discount.
- Book early, pay later. Lock in a spring job now at this year’s rate. Ideal for trades and seasonal services.
- A thank you for regulars. Something only past customers get. It rewards loyalty and costs nothing to promote, because you already have their email.
Whatever you pick, set an end date. An offer with no deadline is just a price.
Where should the holiday offer live online?
The holiday offer should live on its own page on your website, not only in a social post or a sign at the counter. Every email, post and ad points to that one page, so it has to say what the offer is, who it is for, when it ends, and how to claim it, with a button that does exactly that.
A dedicated page also makes the results measurable. If every message points at one address, you can see how many people visited and how many bought, instead of guessing. Our guide to what a landing page is and when you need one covers how to build a page like this.
How many emails and posts should a holiday promotion include?
Most small business holiday promotions need three to four emails and six to ten social posts spread across the campaign. That is enough to reach people more than once without wearing out your list.
A simple email rhythm that works:
- Announcement when the offer opens, explaining it plainly.
- A reminder about halfway through, ideally with a real customer story or photo.
- Last call two days before the deadline.
- Final day on the morning it ends. This is usually the email that sells the most.
If your list has been quiet all year, send a normal, useful email a week or two before the announcement so the offer is not the first thing they hear from you in months. Our post on how often to email your customers explains why that warm up matters.
Can you run a holiday promotion yourself?
Yes. A small business owner can run a solid holiday promotion with free or cheap tools in about one afternoon of setup plus 15 minutes a week. Write the offer in one sentence. Build the page on your existing site. Write all four emails in one sitting and schedule them in your email platform. Batch the social posts the same day using a scheduler, and put a sign at the counter that matches the page word for word.
Then pick one number to watch, usually sales or bookings that used the offer, and check it weekly. That is the whole system.
Target Marketeer builds and runs marketing for small businesses nationwide, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and the holiday season is when a little planning pays back the most. If you would rather hand the whole thing off, our seasonal campaign bundle runs $2,150 and covers the offer page, the emails and texts, the social posts and dressing your site for the season.
How do you know if the holiday promotion worked?
A holiday promotion worked if it brought in more profit than it cost, counting the discount as a cost. Compare sales during the campaign with the same weeks last year, count how many sales used the offer, and note how many of those were new customers rather than regulars who would have bought anyway.
Write the results down in January while you still remember them. Next year’s promotion starts from what this one taught you, and that is how a holiday offer gets better every year instead of being reinvented in a panic.
Quick answers
When should I start promoting a holiday sale?
Announce it two to four weeks before the main buying window, and start planning six to eight weeks ahead. For an early December offer, that means planning in October and announcing in early November.
Should a small business do Black Friday?
Only if the offer suits your business. Many local service businesses do better with a gift card bonus or a book early offer than with a deep discount on one crowded weekend.
How much of a discount should a holiday offer be?
Enough to be noticed and small enough to protect your margin, which for most small businesses is 10 to 20 percent or an added bonus rather than money off. Bundles and bonus gift cards usually beat straight discounts on profit.
Do holiday promotions need a landing page?
They work much better with one. A single page that explains the offer gives every email, post and ad somewhere clear to send people, and it is the only reliable way to measure what the promotion brought in.
Pick the offer this week, and the rest of the plan falls into place around it. If you want help shaping the bigger picture for next year, the Plan Builder is a good place to start.
