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7 Hacks to Boost B2B Sales for the Holiday Season

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Is all the merry-making and holly jolliness putting your B2B sales in a slump?

From Thanksgiving until Christmas, most minds and wallets are on consumer spending, finding that perfect gift for a loved one, and counting the days until a work vacation.  But that doesn’t mean your revenue has to take a hit.

Let’s explore our top seven hacks for boosting your B2B sales throughout the holidays so you can finish the year strong:

Seven B2B Hacks

#1 Discounts, Discounts, Discounts!

Even B2B companies can’t resist a good deal, and there’s no better time to offer your best pricing than during the holidays.

It’s not an original or glamorous idea by any means, but it does work if you know how to price your products.

First, the discount must be attractive. Offering a cut of 10% or 15% might not be enough to see a surge in sales – it could mean you’re simply getting 15% less from buyers who would have bought anyway.

Rather, the holidays should be reserved for your all-time best pricing. Major savings like 50% or more on very select items or inventory closeouts can help to sway B2B buyers your way.

#2  Emphasize End of Year Budgeting

While consumers are busy stocking up on stocking stuffers, companies are wondering what to do with the rest of their budgets. Time is running out, and you can capitalize on their time crunch by offering the right year-end deals just in time.

Tailor your marketing messages to include a sense of urgency about spending funds before the end of the year. It brings their budget to the top of their minds and can help spur them into buying mode.

#3  Get in the Cyber Monday Spirit

If you thought Cyber Monday was just for consumer purchases, think again. B2B businesses haven’t quite yet embraced this sacred digital holiday just yet, but they should. Last year, Cyber Monday brought in over $6.59 billion in sales, and B2B businesses can certainly take their fair share of that number.

Check out our recent guide on how to leverage Cyber Monday for B2B E-commerce sales.

#4  Offer Bundle Deals

If you aren’t quite ready to slash your prices in half or more, consider offering bundle deals that can sweeten the value of what you’re offering.

For example, rather than offer a 50% discount on a single service, you might include a few bonuses that don’t cost you much to offer but bring a whole heap of value to your customer. This might include a free assessment, additional content, future discounts or coupons, a consultation, or other scalable items that can help you make your offering appear more intriguing.

Or, you might consider combining complementary services and products to increase your average ticket size. Video game manufacturers and gift basket companies have perfected this art, but the same practices can easily be adapted for B2B products. For example, an office supplies company for businesses might combine ink or toner, paper, and a printer or copier for a single price.

Facebook is known for bringing up memories and milestones, and you can use this same technique for driving top of mind awareness during the holidays.

Talk about upcoming trends and predictions in your industry for the upcoming year. You can promote your ideas in blog posts and tie your promotions into your content. Not only can this help you drive revenue, it also adds value to your audience by helping them to prepare for the new year.

You might even include a section on your website for hot products for the upcoming year so your customers can stock up on them early before you sell out.

#6  Host a Holiday Contest

Hosting a contest can be an effective way to generate leads during the holidays.

Contests offer a lot of flexibility in crafting promotions and generating interest in your company. It’s an easy way to reconnect with existing customers while reaching out to prospects.

The key is to make your prize(s) attractive enough to get people to enter. Big ticket items can help to make your contest successful. Consider offering your own products or services as part of the prize. You could also tailor your offering to something that an entire company could benefit from, such as a break room makeover, new TV for the office, free office supplies or snacks for a year, or sponsoring a company holiday party.

The idea is to drive website traffic and leads so that you can nurture them through your sales funnel. Depending on what you sell, this could also bring in repeat sales long after the holidays are over.

#7  Ramp Up Your Email Marketing

Email marketing can be effective year-round, but you’ll want to beef up your strategy around the holidays. Increasing your email frequency, using abandoned cart emails, and sending special offers or discounts to email subscribers can all contribute to driving sales.

In addition, you can use your email marketing to promote your blog posts or other content to help increase website traffic. Sharing tips, ideas, and insights your audience can use for the upcoming year is a great way to stay top of mind and keep in touch without blasting sales and specials during each contact.

You can scale your email marketing by using scheduling services like MailChimp. Creating emails ahead of time and choosing when to send them can save you time during the holiday season without sacrificing results. All you need to do is analyze your results to ensure your efforts are working.

Bonus Tip: Apply These Hacks All Year Long

You don’t need a “holiday” to use the hacks we’ve provided. Just find any cause or special occasion (e.g. National Puppy Day) and tie it in with your promotions. People go nuts over well-planned deals, so create an irresistible offer you can combine with a special day or time period and let the sales flow in.

Got a fun way to boost your B2B sales during the holidays? Drop us an email or share it on our social media channels!

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