Cheery v. Scrooge - Are festive holiday activities worth the effort for your business?

The answer is YES!

I can honestly say I'm not a "holiday" person.  All the hoopla and activity around national and local holidays often seem like an unnecessary use of time and resources to me...but this is changing.  I now understand the significance of holidays for my staff and clients (and me) - and as such, have become keen to celebrate along with them.   So, I use holidays as an opportunity to let my team and my clients know how much I value them, as well as use these special days of the year as an opportunity to reach my audience in a more personal, friendly way.

Holidays present businesses, especially small ones, with a variety of social, branding and commerce opportunities, which should not be ignored.  Business owners and leaders should definitely make it a regular part of their planning process to explore if it makes sense for their company and brand to show some cheer on certain holidays - and when doing so, to do it respectfully to all their customers and prospects.  Especially for bigger companies, navigating the various cultures and local festivities can be a challenge (and hence why multinationals tend not to do festive things), but with the right kind of guidance and empowerment for local staff, it is possible to pull this off with flying colors. 

Holidays present companies with two main opportunities:

1. a chance to show your staff that their personal time and balance is important to you and that you are celebrating this time with them
2. an interesting opportunity to engage your prospects and clients in a more personal way, without invading their privacy

My tips to maximize your Business' Holiday Cheer:

1. Do something nice for your team that's festive.  Whether it be giving them an afternoon off or a small bonus on your country's national holiday or during the year-end holiday cycle - take a moment to celebrate alongside your team on important national and local holidays, where possible.  This is really about building a "team" culture with your employees, and showing them that their personal time off during these holidays is important to you too.  

It's a well-researched fact that over-working your staff leads to lower productivity over time.  So, not only is giving time off (within reason) on holidays important for them, it's important for your business.  If you don't feel that you can spare one day or afternoon off for your staff (or parts of them) - you're probably operating your company beyond capacity and should invest in improved processes, efficiency enhancements or more staff.

2. Tickle your Audience with Creative Holiday-relevant Messages.  There aren't many chances were you can appropriately ping your audience with a somewhat personal message and have it be relevant.  For example "Happy Monday" vs "Happy New Year."  The first seems silly, while the second is an appropriate starting point to discuss how you would like to explore their needs in the New Year, etc.  It's a good habit to reflect on EACH holiday on your local calendar and decide if it makes sense for your business to do something.  "Something" could be to put up decorations, send out festive greetings, or add new items to your menu, etc.  Your customers and prospects are likely to be celebrating each of these holidays, so give them an opportunity to celebrate them with your company as well, at least in a small part.  
3. Show holiday Cheer in a Meaningful Way: Update your website visuals with some festive images to tie the holiday theme back to your core business - Digital Engagement.  The trick is to find a meaningful, credible way to connect the holiday to your business.  

For example, this year-end holiday season, a restaurant might communicate something like this: "This year, we've decided to give a little more to help our community and will be donating 1 meal for every 10 guests eating in the restaurant between now and Christmas.  We are also accepting canned goods and toys to donate to the local children's shelter.  I hope you'll stop by to make a donation and be our guest to make this holiday season that much brighter for those less fortunate than us.  Happy Holidays!"  In this example, taking the extra time to do something important in the community while reaching out to customers to get them involved will help others while helping your bottom line – not to mention make your business a nicer place to work.

4. Reflect & Encourage Your Staff and Customers to do the same.  I generally use the holidays to reflect on how my business has performed and to reach out to my customers and staff to talk about what's next, because they often use holidays in the same way.  If you make this a regular practice - you'll find that you're having more productive conversations on a regular basis, because we all know how it's easy for the year to zoom by without raising our head to see where we've traveled.  

ChangeU: For your independent study ...

Should You Incorporate the Holidays into Your Marketing? http://bit.ly/12lsoSx
Perspectives on holiday marketing from a B2B executive.

Seven Holiday Marketing Mistakes To Avoid http://entm.ag/1D22u76
Strategies to boost year-end sales, from Entrepreneur magazine.

Small Business Owner's Guide to the Holiday Bonus http://bit.ly/1yKyxUT
Facts and tips about giving holidays bonuses.

Retail & Consumer: 2014 Holiday Outlook http://pwc.to/1AYZmnI
Top trends, consumer behaviors, and implications for retailers - infographic.

Survey Shows Minor Spend Can Equal Big Rewards for Small Business Owners http://bit.ly/1G8URKf

8 Little Touches to Get Your Customers in the Holiday Spirit (and Start Spending!) http://bit.ly/1z1sUAD
A few of the most cost-effective ways you can get customers in the shopping spirit.