The holiday season is often a make-it or break-it time of year for small business owners. This year has the potential to be the most successful yet. But to experience that success, you need to start preparing now.
One critical but often overlooked preparation is establishing adequate insurance coverage. Insurance provides the safety net you need in an uncertain world. You should be updating your website for the holiday season now. Don’t underestimate the power of dropping hints about product drops or sales coming soon.
Insurance Prep is Key
Even if you have the best holiday season you’ve ever had, your business is at tremendous risk of losing everything if you don’t have insurance.
Life is uncertain, and there is a seemingly endless list of things that could go wrong, from devastating weather events to vandalism to accidents. A good business insurance policy, whether it’s insurance for a home-based business or a policy for a midsize company, will help you recover from these emergencies.
Instead of losing everything, an insurance policy can protect your finances and enable you to rebuild.
Remember that you also need to consider cyberinsurance. Your risks are always changing, but cyber insurance understands that and provides financial protection so that if you’re a victim of a cyber attack, you can continue to operate.
Update Your Website for the Holidays
If you have a banner running at the top of your page that advertises an exciting event in 2023, people are going to navigate away from your page. If you can’t keep things updated, people will assume you’re not in business anymore, or at the very least, you’re out of touch with current trends.
Ensure your site features an easy-to-navigate holiday section to boost your lead generation. If you’re selling products, it should be easy to find a way to market them for holiday purchases. But if you’re selling something more generic, you still need to find ways to market your services for the holidays. There is always a way to tie your work in with the holidays.
The majority of website visits are from smartphones, so your site absolutely needs to be optimized for mobile. This is nothing new, but it’s critically important, so it needs to be addressed. You will lose business if people can’t navigate easily on their phones.
Prepare for Holiday Sales
Start dropping hints. Build excitement. Make people wonder what’s going to happen next. Avoid email marketing fails and ensure your email list is up to date, and send your first holiday email. Don’t spill the beans about everything; instead, start giving clues about how you’re going to make this holiday season the best yet.
People love to save money. Whether it’s auto insurance savings or getting a great deal on a holiday gift for a friend, your customers will get an endorphin boost when they save money.
And when you introduce new sales or products, ensure they’re not disappointing. If you build up a huge sale and then offer 5% off, you’ll make people lose faith in you. You don’t have to offer 50% off everything, but you should make shopping during the holidays worthwhile.
You could offer free gifts included with the purchase, or a tiered discount where you receive a steeper discount the more you spend. Encourage spending and reward people when they make significant purchases.
This holiday season can be epic for your small business. Make sure you’re prepared financially with excellent insurance coverage, keep your website updated and easy to use, and start dropping holiday hints that you will follow through on.
Comments