5 Creative Ways to Show Customer Appreciation This Holiday Season

Holiday customer appreciation event

Everyone’s heard that this time of year is the “season of giving.” And it certainly is. But this season is also really busy, overwhelming, stressful, and challenging. Often, finding ways to say “thanks” to our family and friends, much less to our customers, falls to the bottom of our never-ending to-do lists. But if you ever stop and really think about why you’re in business, why you do what you do, it always comes back to your customers. And your customers are what allow you to maintain and stay in business. So this holiday season, we challenge you to show customer appreciation.

5 Creative Ways to Show Customer Appreciation This Holiday Season

Most businesses choose to go the common routes – the holiday card, the fruit basket, the 20% off coupon. And hey, there’s nothing wrong with thanking your customers those ways. But we’re going to offer you 5 creative ways that are a little “out of the box” to show your customers how much you appreciate them:

1. Personalize Your Holiday Gifts

Personalized Christmas card to show customer appreciation

Have you ever received a gift and felt like the giver didn’t know you at all? This is often what happens when businesses send out generic gifts, such as mass-produced holiday cards or pretty gift baskets where half the food tastes stale. If you’re sending holiday cards, try handwriting a message. If you’re going to send a food basket, go the extra step and find out if that customer has allergies or food preferences. Whatever holiday gift you choose to send, make sure it’s personalized.

Source: McNutt & Partners

2. Hold a Customer Appreciation Event

Group of people at a customer appreciation event.

Now this might not be the most creative way to show your customers appreciation, but it might be one of the most fun ways to thank them for their business. If you have a brick & mortar office, this could be a great option for you. If not, you could consider renting out a small (or large) meeting space to have food, drinks, and plenty of holiday cheer to thank your customers in person.

Source: Cleaner.com

3. Pay It Forward

People volunteering at a charity after a business received donations to show customer appreciation

The holidays might be the most common time of year for businesses to donate to charities. And that’s okay! It’s a great bandwagon to jump on, and there are many creative ways in which you can thank your customers by paying it forward. Ask your customers which charities are most meaningful to them, and then plan to donate to those! Or, invest a percentage of profits into local charities that will benefit your community overall.

Source: Faire Blog

4. Highlight Your Customers for 12 Days

Smiling customer headshot for 12 days of customer appreciation

So if you’ve been following along with our blog, you might recall our 12 Tips of Holiday Marketing post! Either way, we like the number 12. Put a cool twist on the 12 days of Christmas and instead, highlight 12 different customers for 12 days on your website or social media sites. Highlight what makes them a great customer or partner, and how much you appreciate their business.

Source: CallSource

5. Give Away Gift Cards . . . for Other Businesses

Set of gift cards for other local businesses to show customer appreciation

Okay, now this might seem counterintuitive. But we promise, it’s not. As a small or startup business, having the support of your local community is everything. And what a great time the holidays are to set the focus on other businesses. Whether you want to host a giveaway, or simply surprise customers with gift cards for neighboring businesses, this is sure to be a hit with your customers, and a reminder of what your business prioritizes.

Source: NextDoor for Business

We know this time of year is busy, but taking a few extra steps to show customer appreciation can go a long way. If you ever need help thinking of new, creative ways to thank your customers, we’re just a phone call away at Paragon Marketing Group. Call us today at (262) 443-9092.

12 Tips Of Holiday Marketing

Here's our gift of holiday marketing tips for small businesses!

Blink, and the holiday season is almost upon us! But did you know the holiday marketing season is already here? Which begs the question: are you ready? Despite inflation, this holiday season could likely experience record-high spending. We want to help you prepare your business by offering our top 12 holiday marketing tips.

12 Holiday Marketing Tips

Now, you might be wondering why 12 tips. Why not 5 or 10? Well, there are 12 days of Christmas. Jesus had 12 disciples. There are 12 months in a year. And you probably need to prepare for what could be your busiest month of sales, which also happens to be during the 12th month of the year. Plus, we’re fans of the number 12. So without further ado, here are our 12 holiday marketing tips:

A laptop, mug, and book on a desk. The workplace is set up for a person to use holiday marketing tips for their business this season.
Use our top holiday marketing tips this season to prepare your business for the holidays!

1. Be Honest with Buyers

It goes without saying that you should be honest with your customers. And now more than ever, people crave authenticity in this highly commercialized season we refer to as “the holidays.” Maybe you’re struggling to offer a certain service or product due to supply issues. Tell your customers upfront. Or perhaps you’ve had to make significant changes to your business due to economic pressures. Either way, communicating the truth will establish your business’s credibility and build trustworthiness with customers.

Source: Rio SEO

2. Connect with Customers Using Holiday Cards

The holidays are overstuffed with commercialism, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a meaningful way to connect with them. A handwritten and/or photo card creates connection with customers and offers a glimpse of the person behind the business. Or, you could always send a digital holiday card that could be the start of a marketing campaign. Whichever way you do it, don’t miss out on this chance to connect with your customers.

Source: NetSuite

3. Develop Discounts During Inflation

Most consumers expect their holiday shopping to be affected by inflation this year. This creates a great opportunity for business owners to highlight deals, discounts, and special sales. Shoppers will be looking for new, creative ways to save money. With everyone feeling the impact of trying financial times, there’s no better time to offer holiday deals for frugal spenders.

Sources: Numerator, Nextdoor for Business

4. Excite Your Early Shoppers

We’re in the final quarter of the year. Some of your customers might have already FINISHED their holiday shopping! But that’s no reason to panic. According to eMarketer, 40% of shoppers plan to start their holiday spending during these last two months of the year. Gone are the days of most shopping happening in the few days leading up to the Christmas holiday. Reward the shoppers who are prepared to spend early and start marketing your holiday deals and specials now!

Sources: eMarketer, Outbrain

5. Get Your Gift Cards Ready

Unfortunately, since the outbreak of Covid-19, many businesses have struggled to keep up with high demand and supply chain issues. Now is the perfect time to get your gift cards ready. Not only do they make great gifts for business partners or faraway friends and family, but the numbers are also in your favor: last holiday season saw a 27% increase in gift cards.

Sources: Cardlytics, Nextdoor for Business

6. Keep Your Customers Top of Mind

For many people, the holiday season is not so much the “most wonderful time of the year,” but rather the most stressful time of the year. All of us can recall a time when we weren’t treated with respect by a business. Or, maybe we had a terrible experience, but the business had no solutions to offer. Sometimes it’s easy to forget what it’s like to be the customer. So as you make your marketing plans for the holiday season, make sure you’re keeping your customers in the front of your mind when making decisions.

Source: WP Swings

7. Mobilize Your Site for Mobile Users

More people are shopping on their smartphones and tablets today, and you want your digital presence ready for the season, too. Whether you’re B2B or B2C, your site visitors want to have a pleasant online experience. Why is this so important? It will keep them on your site longer, AND make them more likely to purchase if it’s easy. Optimizing your site for mobile will enable your page to load faster and could play a big role in increasing your sales, especially with increased web traffic around the holidays.

Sources: PageFly, Think With Google

8. Review Prior Year Results

When in doubt of where to start with your holiday marketing plan, look at how your business performed during last year’s holiday season. Whether you want to do a deep dive into Google Analytics, consider former successful (or failed) marketing campaigns, or repeat small changes that unexpectedly increased sales, historical information often offers a wealth of information.

Source: NetSuite

9. Send Fewer Emails to Keep Subscribers

How many times have you unsubscribed from businesses that seemed like they had nothing better to do than spam your email inbox? Now email marketing is a valuable, tried and true marketing method. But especially around the holidays, consumers receive countless emails. Even multiple per day from the same company! Give your email subscribers the gift of limited emails this holiday season.

Source: Ignite Visibility

10. Stick to Social Media Marketing

Social media is an ideal marketing channel to use year-round, and there’s no exception to that fact this holiday season. Nearly three quarters of global marketers utilize social media marketing, and you should too. In addition to paid advertising, posting giveaways or contests on social media is a great way to capture organic leads during the holidays.

Sources: HubSpot, Ignite Visibility

11. Utilize User Reviews

Now more than ever, businesses need to offer proof that their product or service is, indeed, worth it. And while there are many ways to approach that, user reviews act as a great proof of concept. Whether you’re highlighting 5-star reviews on your website, showcasing well-known customers, or filming a moving testimonial, the holiday season is the time to emphasize positive user reviews.

Source: WP Swings

12. Winterize Your Web Presence

It’s not just our homes, vehicles, or boats that need winterizing in Wisconsin (or anywhere north, for that matter). Don’t neglect your online marketing presence. Updating your Facebook cover photo, using a catchy blog post title (we think ours is pretty good!), or giving your website a festive look will get your customers in the holiday spirit while also demonstrating your business’s attention to detail and ability to stay current.

Source: WP Swings

There are so many ways you can maximize your marketing for the holiday season! We hope these holiday marketing tips will help your business succeed and sell during the holidays. Whether you’re gearing up for a busy shopping time or just need help with your marketing, contact Paragon Marketing Group for all your seasonal and non-seasonal marketing needs.