3 Ways to Increase Small Business Sales After the Holidays

For most small businesses, the holiday shopping season is their busiest season. In fact, one-third of small businesses report Q4 as the most profitable time of year for their business. But you might be thinking, “how can I increase small business sales after the holiday?”

Many small business owners meet the new year with mixed emotions: relief that the chaos is dying down, and anxiety about the January sales slump. The holiday season only comes once a year, but there’s a lot you can do to increase sales and keep the momentum going all year long.

Here are three ways you can leverage the energy from the holiday season to increase small business sales in 2023.

1. Incentivize Your Customers in the New Year

You probably gained a few new customers during the holiday season. Now that you have those new customers, it’s important to transition them from being a one-time purchaser to a loyal, return customer. There’s no question that creating a customer base is imperative to the success of your business—the probability of selling to an existing customer is 60 to 70 percent, while the probability of selling to a new prospect is just 5 to 20 percent.

One of the easiest ways to retain your current customers is through customer service. As you kick off the new year, evaluate your support team strategy. 58 percent of customers will take their business elsewhere due to poor customer service—so ensure that your staff is properly trained on your product or service and welcome customer feedback to improve your customer experience.

To get more customers in the door during slower months, consider offering a special discount or deal. For example, you could create a special social media coupon, for customers that follow you on your social platforms. This way, you get people in the door, and create a stickier relationship with your customers.

2. Re-evaluate Your Small Business’s Social Media Strategy 

Speaking of social media, it’s one of the easiest ways to get your business’s message out there—and even better—it’s free. If you don’t have a Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for your business, kick off the new year by creating pages on these platforms.

If you’ve been leveraging social media, take stock of what has worked and what hasn’t, and do some digging to find out who your audience is. And remember—creating exciting content to engage with your audience should be a top priority. It doesn’t have to be complicated, take pictures of your store or restaurant, promote other businesses in your town, and share exciting products and deals.

Remember: 90 percent of people buy from brands they follow on social media, so it’s important for your business to have a digital footprint—even if you’re not selling online.

Be proactive in your social strategy and create a plan for the entire year. Studies show that just having a plan doubles your chances for success, so why not give it a try? Since January can be a slow month, consider testing out a social media campaign, and offering that discount we mentioned for your social media followers. Not only will it help drive traffic to your business, but it also makes your customers feel like they are part of something exclusive.

3. Take Your Business Online Today

As you kick off the year, make sure you are reaching your customers on every channel. If you don’t have a website or online store, it should be a top priority in 2023. Did you know that more than half of US consumers prefer to shop online? And yet, 46 percent of small businesses don’t have a website. Building a website is no small feat, and for many small businesses, it’s a low priority that will just take too much time.

For retailers, custom coding a website and adding a shopping cart feature may seem like something that’s just for big retailers. For restaurants, using a third-party platform like Grubhub or DoorDash might seem like an easy option, since they will handle the digital portion, but when your restaurant is handing out nearly 20 percent of every order in commission fees, it can be hard to stomach the costs. Consider a simpler solution altogether—Beyond’s online storefront is an easy and affordable solution for your online ordering and e-commerce shopping cart needs.

Sure, this time of the year is busy—instead of stressing, capture the excitement of the busy season and use it to fuel your new year. At Beyond, we’re always looking for ways to give small business owners an edge. Follow the Beyond Blog to stay up to speed on the industry and get money saving tips.