It seems almost impossible to think about Christmas in the height of summer. We’re only just about recovering from a huge heatwave. The joys of sunburn, struggling to sleep and trying not to complain about how hot it is are a distant memory.

There are just 108 days until Christmas Day from 7th September. For small business owners who are heading up the Marketing, HR and Sales departments, time is of the essence. The sooner you start planning, the better you will feel when October rolls around.

Some noteworthy events that happen before Christmas include Black Friday on Friday 27^th November and Small Business Saturday on Saturday 5^th December.

There are plenty of opportunities for SMEs to get involved in the action, and although it might feel daunting to try and be heard through the noise, being prepared will allow you to execute your seasonal strategy seamlessly.

When October arrives…

As we enter autumn, it is time to implement your Christmas Marketing strategy. Whether this is formulated around special offers, limited-edition products or getting involved in your local community, it is time to get started.

This needs to happen before Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. Getting in front of customers in October is vital to your strategy having longevity. Each year, flyers and emails are received by customers earlier than the previous year. So before the noise starts, get in there early.

Black Friday or Green Friday?

There are lots of opinions surrounding Black Friday. As an American holiday that arrived in the UK in 2014, we have become all too familiar with red tags and SALE signs up and down the high street. And for small businesses, it is unrealistic to try to compete with an 80% off sale that a major national high street retailer is having…

Black Friday is driven by manic sales, rife competition, social pressure to participate and an increase in customer carbon footprint.

In more recent years, we’ve seen a move away from the chaos of Black Friday. Generations are becoming more eco-conscious; many customers avoid Black Friday altogether. In 2011, Patagonia released a jaw-dropping campaign in the New York Times urging people not to buy one of their jackets. This was the start of a new alternative, Green Friday. Taking place in conjunction with Black Friday, there is now an option for customers to choose a greener alternative. This new holiday can be marked in a variety of ways, from sustainable shopping to simply stepping out into nature.

If the environment is something your business cares about, getting involved in Green Friday might be appealing to your customers too. British cosmetics brand Lush steers clear of Black Friday, and instead embraces digital campaigning on this day.

Supporting Small Business Saturday

American Express has supported Small Business Saturday since it arrived in the UK in 2013. The initiative encourages customers to shop local in the run-up to Christmas. Local high streets are the backbone of our towns, and we feel passionately about this in Reigate.

Small Business Saturday has been incredibly successful, taking millions each year, with spend on the day topping over £1 billion.

The grassroots campaign highlights small business successes and all businesses, from family-run to coffee shops to service providers, are encouraged to get involved. There is also an opportunity for larger businesses to support the campaign via mentoring, advertising and sponsorship.

This year, Small Business Saturday UK takes place on Saturday 5^th December. Find out how you can get involved here.

Now for the Christmas crunch

After the pre-Christmas warm-up, the height of the golden quarter really takes shape. All of your efforts from October will make your December much easier. Here are a few things to consider when thinking about Christmas:

Where are your customers shopping this Christmas?

How well do you understand your customers’ shopping habits?

The way we shop is continuously evolving, and now with so many channels available, it’s important you know the answer to this question. Now is the time to look back at data from the past year, focus on the channels that work well and spend time improving the user experience.

Your website

Are your customers using your website to shop your products?

Your website must be fully optimised for search through a targeted SEO strategy to ensure your site can be easily discovered. It is worth conducting a review of your website to ensure it is performing at its optimum.

Offering your customers a seamless shopping experience is key; this means reviewing your site speed, accessibility, and mobile optimisation. If customers experience friction when checking out, this will negatively impact the user experience, and they might not return.

Once the technical SEO is in place, then you can think about the fun stuff. Here are some pointers to consider when thinking about your website at Christmas:

• Update your homepage – decorate your homepage like you would your Christmas tree… perhaps add a festive banner or a decorative bauble here and there.
• Keep your offering updated – if you are running promotions, make sure your discount codes are working and are on theme… XMAS26 will be popular, I’m sure.
• Product purchases – if you can purchase something tangible from your business, what does the seasonal packaging look like? Is a festive comp slip included? Do you offer gift wrap? Have you thought about offering gift sets? Make sure your suppliers can deliver to the timescale you have communicated with customers and remember to allow for longer postage at this time of year.
• Service purchases – businesses who aren’t offering a tangible product can still have fun with their website during the festive season. Just because you’re not selling a product doesn’t mean your customers won’t be open to some festive cheer. Get creative with it!
• Online or in-app advent calendars – are you in a position to offer an advent calendar giveaway? The Chapel Café in Reigate ran an Advent Calendar raffle last year which was a huge success. With every order, customers were given a raffle ticket with a winner drawn every day and announced on Instagram.

Your social media

Meta, YouTube, Pinterest and TikTok continue to be the main social media platforms that consumers are confident with and trust to purchase through. ASOS are the main contenders across these platforms; I’m not ashamed to say I’ve fallen to an ASOS YouTube advert purchase. A report from SproutSocial gives a brief overview of how to set up shopping for each platform.

It is worth noting that your social media strategy does not always need to use paid adverts. If you have the chance to speak to your customers and choose to do this organically, this can be just as effective, especially at the height of the Christmas crunch. Brands battle for consumers’ attention at any given time of the day and it will be harder to compete for their attention.

In the last year we’ve spoken a lot about AI, LLMs, bots… the list goes on. As apps like ChatGPT begin to offer advertising, this is another channel that might be worth reviewing for your business, depending on whether this is a route used to land on your site. Your website analytics will be helpful here.

Christmas for SMEs

Now more than ever, SMEs are going to be feeling the pressure. The economy and our shopping habits are changing. New businesses on the high street and firm favourites are all feeling the squeeze.

There is still a place for high street shopping, and we are especially fortunate to have such a thriving high street in Reigate.

For SMEs selling products or services, it is probably not possible to compete on price during the festive season, but they can compete in different ways:

1. Utilise reward schemes – reward customers and employees where you can. Anything from stamps on a loyalty card to highlighting an employee’s achievement will go a long way during the festive season.
2. Community events – if you can, get involved in local events, whether that’s helping out or having a stall; it is the community events that will raise visibility for your business and contribute to conversions in the future. Locally, the Reigate Christmas Fayre is an event to consider, drawing thousands of visitors into town each year.
3. Customer service – if people are at the heart of your business, make it known. Excellent customer service goes a long way, especially in an era of chatbots; real human relationships still matter.
4. Goodwill – offering an incentive when a customer spends over a certain amount might be an option. For example: ‘spend over £100 to receive 10% off your next order’ will keep loyalty alive. Offering an extended return period from 30 to 60 days will also encourage customers to choose to shop with you.
5. Charity – everyone feels the pinch during the festive period, especially charities. Instead of Secret Santa this year, why not encourage your employees to donate to a local charity? Supporting a local charity is a great thing to do and also contributes to a positive CSR.

With all of this in mind, it’s certainly not too early to be talking about the golden Christmas quarter. Now is the time for SMEs to consider the needs and behaviour of their target audience in the weeks and months leading up to the festive season. Understand how your customer shops and enhance their user experience. As we now live in a world of AI, staying relevant and authentic should sit at the heart of your strategy and be implemented consistently across all your communications.