The document provides 10 low-cost marketing ideas for small businesses to use during the holiday season. These ideas include hosting an open house, rewarding loyal customers, giving a digital presence a holiday makeover, partnering with other local businesses, supporting local charities, offering gift certificates, pitching products for gift guides, showing off brands in everyday settings, exhibiting at holiday shows, and joining Small Business Saturday initiatives. All of these ideas allow small businesses to increase sales and brand awareness without breaking the bank.

1. Holiday
Marketing
Ideas That
Won't Break
the Bank

2.  For small businesses, finding new and thrifty ways to stand out during the
holiday season can be a little daunting. Competing with the deep
discounts and expensive ad campaigns of big-box retailers and large
companies may make you feel like you've been left with coal in your
stocking.
 But for businesses willing to think outside the box and do a little legwork,
there are tons of creative ways to increase sales, enhance your brand and
improve your image in the community without breaking the bank. Here
are 10 low-cost marketing tactics you can use to spread holiday cheer
while ramping up your sales.

3. 1. Host an open house.
2. Reward loyal customers.
3. Give your digital presence a holiday makeover.
4. Partner with other local businesses.
5. Support local charities.
6. Offer gift certificates.
7. Pitch your products for holiday gift guides.
8. Show off your brand in everyday settings.
9. Exhibit at holiday shows.
10. Join Small Business Saturday initiatives.

4. 1. Host an open house.
• Deck the halls and invite
customers, vendors or other
business partners to a festive
open house at your business. Use
this gathering to showcase
seasonal merchandise, promote
your services, offer discounts or
simply say thanks for another
year of patronage. Even
inexpensive touches, such as
offering a mug of hot cocoa and
cookies while playing holiday
music in the background, can
foster goodwill toward your
business.

5. 2. Reward loyal customers.
 Your most faithful customers are
also your best brand
ambassadors. To show them your
appreciation, you can provide
special offers, free shipping,
sneak previews of new or
seasonal products, or secret
sales. By offering certain deals
exclusively to your VIP customers,
you make them feel special and
uniquely connected to your
business. This, in turn, may lead
to referrals and additional
business.

6. 3. Give your digital presence a holiday
makeover.
Update your website, email and social media profiles
with a festive holiday theme.
Then, drive traffic to your site by offering deals and
advertising events exclusively to your social media fans.
You can also host holiday-themed contests on Twitter
and Facebook, or come up with a unique hashtag to
engage your customers.
 Holding themed events such as a "12 days of
Christmas" sale allows you to feature a product or
service for a limited time, and also creates buzz around
your brand.

7. You can also build a
rapport with customers
by encouraging user-
generated content in a
variety of ways, such as
requesting customers'
favorite seasonal recipes,
asking them to share tips
for staying sane during
the holidays, or inviting
them to post photos of
themselves using your
product.

8. 4. Partner with other local businesses.
 In the spirit of the season, consider joining
forces with like-minded businesses in your
area whose products and services
complement your own.
 You can promote each other's
establishments by offering bundled deals
or cross-selling each other's products.
Ideally, you should partner with businesses
that attract a similar customer base but are
not direct competitors.
 For example, an art gallery and framer may
offer customers a special discount to each
other's businesses, or a wine shop and
BYOB restaurant can provide customers
with discount cards to each other's
establishments.
 These strategic partnerships, which can be
adapted for online businesses as well, help
you market your business with limited
effort.

9. 5. Support local charities.
 The holiday season is the perfect time to strengthen your
community bonds by supporting a nonprofit whose mission
and values align with your own – even on a limited budget.
Contact a community organization you respect and find out
what your business can do to help. You may decide to donate
a percentage of your holiday sales to the charity, organize a
drive, mobilize your employees to participate in a day of
service at its facility, or provide it with equipment, space or
pro bono services.

11. 6. Offer gift certificates.
Publicizing that your business offers gift cards may not
seem exhilarating, but don't overlook their value.
Most businesses can cheaply and simply provide gift
cards, gift certificates and e-certificates to the legions
of shopping procrastinators looking for convenient gift
options.
If you are worried that gift certificates may not seem
exciting enough to draw in customers, remember that
they've remained the most popular items on wish lists
for 11 years in a row, according to a recent survey.

12. While gift card
recipients don't always
get around to
redeeming their
certificates, others end
up spending more than
the value of the card.
Either way, your
business ends up on top
with very little initial
overhead.

13. 7. Pitch your products for holiday gift
guides.
 There seems to be a holiday gift
guide for just about every
category or potential occasion –
everything from "best gifts for
under $20" to "10 items that will
simplify your life in the New
Year." If you have products or
services that make great gifts, get
them in front of editors, bloggers
or anyone else with the power to
feature your items in one of the
many holiday gift guides available
to shoppers. If you lack industry
contacts, you can always create
your own gift lists and feature
them on your website and social
media outlets.

14. 8. Show off your brand in everyday
settings.
 One simple way to stand out during the holidays is to make
sure your brand is always front and center in any setting. For
example, wear a tie, scarf or other apparel that has your
business logo on it when you attend holiday parties. Similarly,
you can add your logo to any holiday baskets or other goodies
you may give away to customers or send to vendors.
 If you send out holiday cards, make sure they highlight some
aspect of your business or feature your staff. You can even
organize a card-writing party with your colleagues so you can
include handwritten messages to each of the recipients.

16. 9. Exhibit at holiday shows.
Craft shows and product exhibitions abound this
time of year. Rent a booth at one of these shows and
get to work creating brand awareness. You can sell
your goods or services, give away samples, play
games, or offer workshops and demonstrations on
topics related to your area of expertise.

17. Thank you