Giving Back at Christmas is Good for Business
The holiday season is here and, if you’re a small business owner, you’re looking for ways to capture some of those Christmas dollars. There are a lot of strategies for boosting sales at Christmas, but it pays to remember that old holiday mantra: “Tis better to give than to receive.’’
Supporting a charitable cause around the holidays is a great way to increase awareness of your business, drive some extra traffic and, if all else fails, earn yourself some good Karma. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Create A Charity Product
The best way to get people to give to charity is to make it easy for them. Creating a special holiday bundle, package or product and announcing that a portion of the profits go to charity lets your customers kill two birds with one stone and feel good while doing it. You can even create a couple of bundles focused on different causes to give people options or focus exclusively on local charities to keep the money within the community.
Make sure the product is really solid, since customers aren’t going to buy a lousy gift just because it’s going to charity. Also, make it clear how much goes to charity for each one sold and make it enough to matter.
Become The Drop-Off Point For a Charity Drive
Koats for Kids, Toys for Tots, local food banks; they’re all active in your community and they’re in high gear around the holidays. All it takes in a phone call to get a bin or a barrel dropped off at your business. It’s going to bring a few extra people through the door, make your customer feel good about choosing your business and it’s an opportunity to do some advertising.
Offer a discount to anyone who brings in an item you’re collecting. Send out a newsletter or post on social media that you’re a drop-off point. Choose a charity that lists drop-off locations on their website. Anything you can do to get some exposure will help you and the organization you’re supporting.
Talk To Local Media
Once you’ve got your charity campaign up and running, reach out to the local newspapers and TV stations. They’re always looking for stories about local businesses helping out the community and even if they decide to be a Grinch and won’t cover you, they’ll have community calendars and event listings that anyone can be part of.
Giving back to the community and helping those less fortunate is what the holidays are all about. These are just a few ideas for how you can help your customers, grow your business and support some good causes. If you’ve got any other ideas, let the Bookedin team know in the comments!
