For seasonal promotions, figure out where you want to start and begin to plan your marketing. Try the following strategies to get the best return on investment:

Check out your competitors: See what small businesses like yours do for the same kind of seasonal promotion. In doing so, you’ll get to find out what works for customers and discover creative new ideas.

Get creative with the resources you have: You want to get as much as possible out of your resources to increase your bottom line. Create reusable marketing materials for this year and next. Before you buy anything new for marketing, check your storage for supplies that can be re-purposed.

Partner with other community businesses: Strength in numbers can help you fight back against retail chains. Find another small store to work with, and you’ll both see better results.

Schedule enough employees for busy times: The end of the year encourages many people to buy from retail locations. The holidays are also a popular time for employees to seek vacation days. If you run a promotion at this time, schedule enough shifts to cover your business.

Schedule Promotions in advance: Use your point of sale device to plan & schedule upcoming promotional offers.

Get help with your digital marketing: Advertising online increases the number of people who learn about your promotion. If you don’t consider yourself tech-savvy, get help from someone you know. Social media events can get the word out to a new audience.

(Source: National Retail Solutions)