Is it just us or does it seem like radio stations start in with the Christmas music earlier and earlier every year? Same thing with department stores and Christmas decorations.

As a consumer, this may be a bit annoying but as a marketer for your business, you can’t afford to fight it. For one reason, According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), small and mid-sized businesses do 20 to 40 percent of their business during November and December. NFR also found that 40 percent of consumers start their holiday shopping before Halloween.

So, it pays to join in and use the early-starting holiday momentum to increase your sales.

Here are some of our best tips on how to do it:

1.) Do a Holiday Count-Down

A great way to stay top-of-mind with your customers during the holidays is to start a count-down campaign to your offer, discount, etc. This can work for almost any kind of product or service and would involve several postcards to remind consumers about your awesome deal and how many days until they can take advantage.

2.) Provide Gift Solutions…Early!

If your product or service would make a great gift, send a postcard to your customers and prospects to remind them about it. You’ll actually be doing many of them a favor because approximately one third of all shoppers wait until mere days before Christmas to start their Christmas shopping, which just compounds the holiday stress because the lines get longer and the inventory get scarcer. So by suggesting your product or service—and presenting a special offer, you’re actually doing them a favor by solving some of their shopping list and helping them avoid the last-minute madness—and you can even mention these “pain points” in the copy on your postcard.

3.) Make Things Simpler

For many people, if they are not leaving town to visit friends or relatives, they are staying home and receiving friends and relatives. Either way, it means making arrangements and getting things ready: travel, tickets, accommodations for guests or self and family, cleaning, landscaping, painting, food, recipes, music, decorations, entertainment—you name it. Figure out how to position your product or service in a way that makes their holidays simpler, smoother, more streamlined. Help people reduce the hustle and bustle and you are golden in their eyes.

4.) Make Your Product/Service Holiday Related

Similar to #2, except that instead of appealing to the consumer’s desire to reduce holiday chaos, you’re putting on your marketing cap and figuring out a way to position your product or service in terms of the holiday: A dentist’s postcard campaign can be about dental protection from the oncoming storm of holiday sweets; the auto repair shop can offer services to “keep your car running great so you can get through all your Christmas shopping and travel,” and lawn care companies can offer to get customers’ property ready for all the entertaining they’re going to do or to keep it looking great while they’re traveling for the holidays.

5.) Holiday Spirit and Holiday Offerings

For retail stores, the marketing goes beyond postcards, to include your premises and customer service. So remember to deck the place out in holiday colors (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Chanukah, etc.). Perhaps you can offer free gift-wrapping, holiday refreshments—anything that gets into the spirit of the season.

Start now because that season is coming up quick…

You could start your holiday postcard marketing right now by logging on to www.prospectsplus.com/pei and creating your first postcard campaign with our beautiful customizable templates. You can create a targeted prospect list and mail from your computer, too.

All you want for Christmas is…a little less work? We hear ya. So give Opportunity Knocks a call at 1 (866) 319-7109 and talk to one of our genius marketing elves. Then they will got back to their workshop and create a beautiful, high response postcard campaign for you.