Estimated read time: 3 minutes, 51 seconds

It’s inevitable. Instead of sugar plums, visions of fourth-quarter goals are dancing in your head every December. You can have a hot chocolate in your hand, White Christmas on your TV and still think about how you can sneak in a few more sales before the new year.

As revenue owners, we know it can be difficult to turn off strategy and just enjoy the holidays. Especially when you feel the pressure of unmet sales goals. So, we want to make things a little easier for you this year by giving you some simple ways to increase sales before the ball drops.

1. Coupon Codes

Everyone likes a good deal, especially around the holidays. Use coupon codes to get your product price within the gifting sweet spot. For example, people often like to keep their gifting budget to $50 or $100 per person, giving you the perfect opportunity to discount prices or bundle products/services to fit within a certain amount. Whether they’re buying for themselves or someone else, coupon codes are the perfect way to give buyers the extra push they need to convert.

2. Affiliate Marketing

There’s nothing like letting someone else do the hard work for you. And that’s what affiliate marketing is all about. Partner with trusted affiliates and let them promote your products outside of your regular network. Remember, it’s super important to set guidelines on creative and media placement to ensure all promotion is consistent with your brand.

3. Referrals

Referrals are more likely to turn into sales than leads generated by other marketing methods. So, if you don’t already have a referral program, set one up as soon as possible. Make sure you have a link on your homepage so buyers can easily sign up for the referral program to receive kickbacks and discounts for referring new customers. Make sure your buyers only get discounts once a purchase is completed to ensure buyers are referring the best prospects.

4. Retargeting

You probably have a database of people who have visited your site and still haven’t completed a purchase. Take advantage of their interest in your business and start serving them ads wherever they are online to promote end-of-the-year deals. You have a much better chance of quickly converting these leads than converting leads higher in the funnel.

5. Gifts

Last year, I got an email from MailChimp that just asked if I wanted free socks for Christmas. Of course, my answer was, “Heck yes!” Within a week, I had fun new socks with a chimp on them.

MailChimp wasn’t asking for anything in return, and their timing was perfect. December is the time when many businesses send out more emails and get more involved in social media to boost their own sales. MailChimp made themselves top-of-mind during the holidays with silly socks, and that’s brilliant. And that simple gift guaranteed that I’ll stay loyal to MailChimp.

6. Contests

Get creative and hold a contest or event that gets buyers excited about your products. The best part about contests is that you can get free advertising from participants. Whether you host your contest on your site or social media accounts, you can require registrants to tag friends or share a special image/hashtag on their personal social accounts to get more entries. Not only does this increase contest participation, but it’s a great way to get your products in front of new eyes and boost sales.

7. Email Blasts

Email campaigns can be incorporated into any other marketing tactic you choose. You can send out an email to highlight some of your best products or share a coupon code. But a “thank you” email sent to your customers expressing gratitude for supporting your business during the past year may be exactly what your audience wants. And there’s nothing wrong with a CTA at the end of your email with a special offer. Whatever tactic you choose, just remember to start your email campaigns early and continue to send emails throughout December for the best results.

8. Giving Back

It’s the season of giving! Give your customers a warm feeling by offering to give a dollar amount or percentage from sales to a charitable organization. This is a simple way to increase sales and give customers that warm feeling that their purchase is benefitting more than just themselves.

You’ve worked hard all year, and you deserve simple solutions to those end-of-the-year challenges. So, try one or all of these tactics to increase traffic, brand loyalty, and—most importantly—sales. You still have a month to end the year strong and start 2019 with some momentum.