A Small Business Owner's Guide to Preparing for the 2024 Holiday Season
We have officially reached the holiday season of 2024! If you haven't already, now is the time to start preparing for holiday marketing campaigns for your small business. Follow along as I share tips on how to make the most out of the end of the year with a comprehensive Preparing Small Business for Holiday Season Checklist.
Start Early
Keep in mind that due to extra promotions, sales, and seasonal specials, you'll need to get ahead of the chaos. I started pouring holiday candles in September. I know I won't have time in November and December to do a ton of restocking because I will be busy at in-person markets, so start as soon as you can. Use last year's numbers to predict how much to create. If this is your first holiday season, use your financial goals to determine the number of products you need to hit those goals.
Learn from Previous Seasons
The biggest takeaway I had from last holiday season is that gifting products do better than my standard products. You'd think that would be obvious, but until you see the difference in person and analyze your sales, it doesn't hit you. So this year, I am leaning into more gift-giving options. Also, I made sure to price my gift products reasonably. You can have the most amazing gift products in the world, but if they're priced too high, you won't sell a lot of them.
Have a Theme or Seasonal Branding
Try to create a message that will resonate with your customers that you can use for the entire season. My theme this year is "Be Everyone's Favorite Gift Giver." I will weave this theme into all of my marketing across social media, email, packaging, etc.
Holiday Marketing Ideas
When planning your holiday marketing campaigns, consider using creative holiday marketing ideas to stand out. Think about special bundles, limited-edition products, or personalized gift options. Engaging your customers with festive content and promotions will help make your brand memorable.
Relax
Treat yourself with kindness. Not everything is going to go according to plan, but don't beat yourself up over it. You'll sell out of things too fast, you'll have too many of something else, things will break, and packages won't ship on time. It's all part of the small business journey and an opportunity for growth.
Check Out Our Holiday Products
Check out some of my holiday products here and buy something for yourself or your loved ones. The new scent for this year is Snow Day—an amazing blend of mint, fresh snow, and Douglas fir. It comes in our brand-new silver vessels, and I can't wait to see what y'all think of it.