How to Avoid the Post-Holiday Sales Slump

You and your business are supercharged to take on the holiday shoppers. You have decked the halls with boughs of holly, set up flags for the New Year, and announced all the sales and promotions through banners. As a result of these efforts, the holiday season has been a resounding success! However, once the dust settles on all of the holiday fanfare, you are faced with the ever-looming and pressing question – now what?

Does this sound like a familiar situation? Well, you are not alone! Post-holiday burnout is very real. January is widely considered the worst time for sales across industries. Call it the month of resolutions or remorse. A post-holiday period often witnesses a slump in sales. What can you do about it? 

Switch Your Marketing Assets

Your vinyl banners, feather flags, and custom table covers have served you well throughout the Christmas season. However, the holidays are over and we are in the new year!

So, start by taking down all the mistletoe and wreaths. Store these assets safely until the following year. While you are at it, you might as well prep for the upcoming season and identify what you will need. Think Spring-based table covers, flags, and even brochures. Plan ahead of time so you can ensure your items arrive in time for the seasonal changes.

Keep the Excitement Going

Just because the holidays are over doesn’t mean your marketing messages and promotions have to be lackluster. There are several exciting holidays and events around the corner, including:

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Valentine’s Day
• St. Patrick’s Day
• Spring
• Easter
• Fun, Miscellaneous Holidays

Feel free to explore these and other options to find promotions that will resonate with your target market. Remember, you don’t have to have a holiday to host a sale or an event. You can partner with a local organization, host an appreciation night for teachers or healthcare workers, or even do something New Year’s resolution centric. The key is to get creative with your promotional theme and your pricing structure to incentivize post-holiday purchases.

New Year, New Me

The new year could be a great time to revitalize your product catalog and launch something new. Most brands follow this strategy of launching new products to overcome the post-holiday period. These products could be in line with any upcoming events, such as Valentine’s Day, or you could tie them to new year’s resolutions. 

Even if such efforts do not necessarily translate into sales, promotional materials like vinyl banners and product one-pagers can generate awareness. This is advantageous for small businesses that are often overshadowed by their competition. A power-packed product launch in January could set the stage for deploying multiple strategies throughout the year to rake in the revenue.

Stay in Touch

An uptick in holiday sales should yield more customer information for you to research. Use this opportunity to develop your marketing list by capturing all customer information, starting with their names, email addresses, and rack purchasing preferences. 

Once you have populated this data, reach out to the customers to capture their shopping experience feedback, notify them of any upcoming sale or alert them on a product launch. The key is to find opportunities to keep meaningful brand interactions going and nurture future sales opportunities.

Work Towards Building Your Brand

You can also utilize this downtime for pushing other brand-building tasks. You could refine your marketing strategies, create and share helpful content, or request reviews. Since you no longer have to keep up with the flurry of activities that you had to during the holiday season, minimal brand-building efforts will capture the attention of your customers. This industry-wide lull is a great time to make your business a frontrunner for your target market’s attention.

Sit Back and Relax

Taking time to rest and recharge is vital for small business owners. The worst thing you can do is over extend yourself and face burnout. Budget in vacation time so you can recharge and come into the new year energized and ready to tackle your 2022 goals. Focus your efforts on gearing up for the next big event or promotion, take this time to show employee appreciation, offer time off to thank your staff, and more. 

Using the post-holiday season to reflect and prepare for the new year is not a loss. In fact, carving out time to check in on your goals and progress could be exactly the thing you need to create successful sales funnels for this year.