The end of the year can be a very busy season for everyone! The holiday season is a great time to impress your clients. It can also present good opportunities to market to potential clients.
Client Communication
Communication is always important, but during a busy season, it can be even more so. Set schedule expectations, including upcoming store closures, with clients ahead of time, and give them reminders with dates they need to order by. You could do this via text or in-app messaging, or you could hand out flyers. You might even consider adding your favorite holiday meal, paired with the ingredients needed to make it, to the flyers! This could help clients plan their holiday meals, which may mean adding a few items to their orders.
You can let clients know how much you appreciate them with small thank-you gifts around the holidays. This can help build on an already great relationship and help keep clients coming back. Choose something with your clients' preferences in mind, or something useful for them. Something that is a conversation starter could get them talking to their holiday guests about your business!
Talk to your clients about holiday shopping early. Getting an early start on shopping can help you and your clients avoid the frustration caused by a lack of inventory. You might also suggest lesser-utilized stores in your area and market those as well. They tend to be less impacted by crowds and inventory issues!
If you have a diverse community of clients, you may have several clients celebrating different holidays. Our article on how to serve a diverse community of clients during the holiday season may be helpful!
Holiday Marketing Tips
The holiday season is a good time to get your business noticed! Keep an eye out for community events during the holiday season. You may be able to have face-to-face time with new leads. If you have clothing with your logo, this is the perfect time to wear it!
Make sure your marketing materials include important information such as your URL and phone number. Keep things simple with clean fonts and colors that are easy to read!
Introduce other time-saving services you offer. Know your niche and lean into that if possible. Be open to non-grocery orders, such as stocking stuffers.
Check out our article Pro Tips for Holiday Shopping & Growing Your Business During the Holiday Season for more ideas!
Thanksgiving
Market store deals such as free turkeys or BOGOs.
Consider reminding customers about thaw times for frozen turkeys to help them be successful with their dinner
Check in about any guests who may have dietary restrictions so that you can offer to purchase alternative items.
The most common Thanksgiving items are pumpkin, apple, turkey, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, macaroni and cheese, stuffing, and pie.
Small Business Saturday
(the Saturday after Thanksgiving)
Use this time to remind clients why supporting your small business matters to you and your community.
Remind clients of small local businesses you can shop from, or even use this month to build relationships with those businesses.
You can utilize graphics or hashtags in your social media posts to gain visibility, such as #shopsmall.
Christmas
Showcase different services you are willing to offer. This can be gift wrapping, "Santa Services", post office drop-offs, waiting in lines, food bank or donation drop-offs, stamp pickup, tree or decor pickups, and much more!
The biggest sellers for Christmas are typically turkey and ham, stuffing, potatoes, vegetables, cranberry sauce, Christmas cookies, and eggnog.
For gift giving, know which items (such as toys) are popular and which store has the best pricing, or even if smaller stores in your area have better inventory.
New Years
Keep in mind which items are prohibited by the Dumpling Terms of Service and plan accordingly so that you're not stuck at checkout with a declined card!
Consider your client's New Year's resolutions in your marketing, such as home decluttering or time management, but be mindful of some that could alienate clients (such as diet-related marketing, which many people hide from their feed or unfollow for).
Watch for Fraud
Fraud can be heightened during the holidays. You can best prevent fraud by taking caution with new customers and watching out for unusual items and situations.
Watch out for expensive electronics to be purchased with the Boss card, expensive gifts such as handbags or jewelry, or even large quantities of resellable items such as multiple cases of Red Bull.
Watch out for a new client asking you to deliver to a place other than the address on the order.