With the start of the holiday season in a few short weeks, your small business will compete with shopping, wrapping gifts, baking and spending time with family for your time and concentration. It is important you take some time now to start organizing what you would like to accomplish in the coming months as you wrap up the year and look ahead to 2010, all while the holidays are occurring.

With the rush of the holiday season, it is easy to forget about the existing customers who have been instrumental to your business over the previous year. Obviously holiday sales will help drive these repeat customers, but are you thanking them for being loyal customers? And what about obtaining new customers during a time period when folks are in a purchase state-of-mind? What are you doing to get their attention?

Below are a couple ideas you should think about incorporating as you look to plan out the holiday season and the last few months of 2009.

For your existing customers:

• Send a Christmas Card: Christmas cards are an easy and cost-effective way to let your customers know that you appreciate their business and support. No matter the size of your budget, there are countless solutions both in stores and online that can get out your season’s greetings. If time permits, you should personally sign or add a note to each card. This will go a long way in helping build a positive relationship with your customer base as well as keep your company top of mind as they start their holiday shopping. Karen Prince, owner of Smoky Mountain Minerals, sends along a personalized holiday card with each holiday season order, along with a note thanking the customer for
  

  Mindy Sanderson

  their business throughout the year. Last year she also added a special discount code inside the card which helped bring repeat customers back to her business. Prince notes the customers enjoy the personal touch and discount while she benefitted from being able to track customers who took advantage of the discount offer to measure effectiveness.

• Give a Gift: A benefit to the holiday season landing in the last couple months of the year is there is always one gift you know your customers need – a calendar. Each year a tradeshow I work with sends me a custom calendar with key dates I need to remember throughout the year along with their contact information. This simple calendar goes a long way in keeping them top of mind as the calendar sits on my desk all year long. Creating a custom calendar for your business is not only timely, but it also allows you to add key dates, sales and coupons into each month. Other great gift ideas include branded mugs, t-shirts, pens and mouse pads.

• Customer Appreciation Day: If the time and resources allow, think about hosting a customer appreciation day for your customers. This could include offering a get together at your store or function area to meet and greet with customers over food and drink. This allows you to thank customers personally as well as converse with them about what they would like to see from your business in the coming year.

To attract new customers:

• Offer Discounts/Coupons: Amidst a tough economy, many shoppers are going to be extra aggressive in finding the best deals on their gifts. To help gain exposure for your company, offer deep discounts (when possible) to help attract new customers to your store or online site. A deep discount and a little marketing and customers are more likely to take notice at your business.

• Reaching Out to Make Contact: As our site has discussed before, email and postcard marketing can be a great way to reach out and connect with potential customers. If you have not tried these effective marketing approaches, perhaps the holiday season is the time to try. Purchasing a targeted customer list, creating an effective message and attaching a strong discount can be a great way to catch new customers looking for great gift ideas at a reasonable price.

• Tie to Events: The holidays are full of different community events and offer a variety of opportunities to get your brand out. Whether sponsoring one of many charitable events happening or having a booth at a holiday related event (community tree lighting, holiday fair at a recreation center, etc.), these events offer a great way to connect with potential new customers.

What is your business planning on doing for the holiday season? No matter what strategy you choose, make sure you are striving for new customers while not forgetting to thank the customer you have already obtained.