When the millionth red-and-green holiday promo makes its way into your inbox, it becomes difficult to think creatively about how your business might create its own. You may feel like you’re better off letting everyone else fight for holiday customers while you focus on your growth plan for next year.

But think of it like this: you have a unique opportunity during the holidays to connect with your customers in new ways. Some clients may have some leftover budget and may be ready to spend it if the right offer comes along. And people are naturally focused on giving this time of the year, so you may have fewer hurdles when it comes to landing new clients.

You can make a ton of mistakes this holiday season, but don’t let not implementing an effective campaign be one of them. Here are nine ideas to spark your creativity as you plan your holiday sales promotions.

New Year’s Resolution Giveaway

We all know the value that testimonials add to your sales process. Real, specific recounts of how you’ve helped current clients are the grandfather of all marketing methods. They give you great third party credibility and provide that word-of-mouth recommendation that is undeniably effective. Pair that with the fact that people love the possibility of winning something for free, and you have the formula for a great sales promotion. 

Reach out to your clients, asking them to provide a quote on how you’ve helped them this past year, and how your product is going to help them meet their 2020 New Year’s resolution. For every client that participates, offer them something in return, like a valuable guide, resource or infographic. Use these testimonials in a social campaign, on your website, or to send to specific leads. Doing so can help boost your credibility and future sales.

Free Holiday-Themed Content

A great top-of-the-funnel promotion is to provide your leads with a holiday-themed resource. It can be a guide or holiday-themed email templates. Whatever you choose to put together, you want to make sure you do so with the intent to wow them and show off your expertise. For inspiration, think of questions you get most often from leads or focus on content topics that center on the awareness stage of the buyer’s journey. 

When putting this resource together, have fun with it. Make it engaging and drive the holiday theme home. Use fun images that add color and vibrancy to the piece of content. Also, and this is the most important part, make sure the end goal is to convert leads to prospects. Add a CTA or offer at the end of the resource to a demo of your platform or a free consultation.

Word-of-Mouth Advertising

As I mentioned earlier, word-of-mouth advertising is one of the best (and oldest) forms of advertising out there. And while we’ve already covered standard referrals, it’s also definitely worth running a promotion around client referrals. 

A great way to entice customers to participate is by offering a free month of your services (or a free product) if they refer your company to a friend and that friend becomes a customer as well. We’ve found that the strongest clients are those who have gone through a lengthier sales cycle (as they’re more educated on what we do) and those who were referred by a friend. This approach allows you to tap into your client’s network where you can reach other like-minded brands that could benefit from whatever it is you offer.  

A New Year’s Countdown Free Trial

Free trials can be expensive, especially for physical products businesses. But if you have a little extra budget left over at the end of the year, harness the excitement that comes with the New Year by offering your product free for a limited time. 

The key to keeping costs down? Limit the window of time in which your customers can opt-in, and limit the number of customers who’ll get access. Spend extra time getting your customers buzzing about it right away to spread the word, but don’t offer the freebie until seven days — or even just a few hours — before midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Mystery Rebates From Santa

We all love receiving gifts during the holiday season. It’s fun to be doted on, of course, but the mystery behind what is under the wrapping paper is where most of the excitement comes from. Sometimes, the thrill of expectation is more fun than the present itself.

The same idea can be used when putting together a promotion for your business. Instead of advertising a traditional rebate (like a $50 gift card after your purchase, for example) opt for a mystery rebate within a certain price range. Explain that one lucky customer will get the largest rebate — which will entice customers to take the chance and make a purchase. 

Use holiday imagery to advertise and make it seem like Santa is the one handing out the rebates. There’s a lot of options you can take to make the messaging fun and on-theme. 

A Surprise Holiday Offer

To encourage more sales during the holiday season, offer a discount on an additional service if customers request a quote or sign up for your platform. Inversely, if your main product or solution is pricey, create an offering that’s significantly less and use it as a marketing tool.

An example of this approach would be to offer a free or low-costing webinar right before the holiday (surprise!) and then during that webinar, promote one of your service lines or product packages. This approach is more attractive because you aren’t asking for anything upfront and deterring people immediately with any overwhelming costs. Instead, you’re getting them engaged by way of an informative, surprise holiday offer (webinar), and using that opportunity to build trust with them, making them more inclined to consider taking you up on the real promotion at the end. 

Have fun with your holiday offers and sales promotions this year. Think outside the box and try using at least one of the ideas mentioned above. They’ll help you increase some sales before (or during) the holidays and add a little bit of fun to your marketing strategy.