These three marketing tips will help your business end the year strong and head into 2023 ready.

Towards the end of the year, every profession is different. Some companies may consider October to December to be their busiest month, while others use this time to prepare for a new year and other busy seasons to come. fashion during the holidays.

Wherever you are, I recommend every business do these three things to end 2022 strong and prepare well for 2023:

1. Invest more in your marketing — tax-free

Buy anything marketing-related before the end of the year and you can use it as a tax deduction on this year’s tax bill (of course, consult your accountant about this). You may want to keep your profits, but that just leaves the IRS with more money — while reinvesting your own profits back into the business will support your future success.

It’s also a great time to purchase year-round marketing campaigns that can unlock great discounts on bulk purchases. You will end 2022 with a plan for how to progress and save money along the way.

Here are some examples of smart, fully deductible marketing investments that can lower your tax bill and pay dividends to your business in the form of more leads and sales. than:

Get the most out of your website with the website development and content creation:

Your business website is one of those things that never ends. Test new offers, add new landing pages, and extract some more leads from your traffic to improve conversions – there is always something to tweak or test.

See if you can find a reputable company that offers website design, development, or copywriting services that you can pay upfront (so it counts toward your 2022 costs). ) to work on your website and its content. This way you can increase conversions for your website at the end of the year (which will increase sales too!) and you’ll be credited so you can start 2023 with a content syndication plan dynamic and useful, attract more visitors and optimize your website for lead generation.

Big savings (and big tax breaks) by buying print ads in bulk:

Direct mail is cheaper to buy in bulk. For example, if you order and ship 2,500 postcards 20 times, buying each print separately, it will cost you 62% more in production costs than if you bought 50,000 postcards at one time and mailed them each time you need. (Full disclosure: This reflects prices from my own company, PostcardMania, so I know prices are reliable).

Of course, there are a number of direct mail companies across the country that you can work with that have their own pricing standards. I am just giving you an idea of ​​what could happen to arbitrage based on my own experience in the industry and with my company.

So if you buy a direct mail campaign that includes a lot of postcards or letters — I’ve seen neighborhood dentists order 500,000 postcards at a time — you can get your mail across. 2023 and save money (you’ll also save time by skipping the ordering, setup, and printing processes, so it’s beneficial as long as you have the resources to pay upfront).

Buying in bulk also reinforces the most important marketing principle I’ve learned: consistency. Mailing can bring in leads, but it won’t help drive long-term growth. Choose a professional printing service or mailing company you trust to handle your messages, then you can roll them out on a weekly or monthly basis with no stress.

Prepay marketing agency or consultant for work in 2023:

Depending on the size of your business, hiring a marketing consultant or agency may be the best way to advertise your products and services throughout the year. Take the time to research your options, but keep in mind that you’ll want to work with someone who can handle a variety of media, like direct mail, digital advertising, social media marketing, and more. All of these aspects must be integrated into a coherent and relevant marketing campaign to produce results. I also recommend choosing someone who’s been around for at least a decade or has a solid customer base because you don’t want to pay upfront for services and then get stuck if they close. It all comes down to investing in the future of your business today. Where can you improve the most? Start from there.

2. Increase gift card sales to bring in more money and attract new clients.

People love buying gift cards during the holidays because they’re quick and convenient, and there’s no guesswork when choosing an item for friends and family. So if you can incorporate gift cards into your year-end promotions, you could see an increase in sales.

According to Retail Dive, gift card purchases have grown by 43% in 2021. While this could be due to supply issues or an increase in online purchases due to the pandemic, in any event, they have become popular.

Gift cards not only benefit your customers; you will also get some benefits. Consider the following:

Increase your brand awareness and attract new customers:

Gift cards help more people know your brand. For example, you own a beauty salon or spa. One of your customers is thinking about her mom because she’s been stressed out lately and wants to get texted and pampered, so she bought her one of your gift cards. Since her mother has never heard of your brand, she should be able to look at your business, try your services, see what else you have and as long as you provide the service. well, she’ll be back again and long after the Holidays are over.

Increase your income:

Most of us have received a gift card, used it, and then realized that the total cost of the purchase was more than the amount on the card. PLI Card Marketing Solutions reported that 65% of gift card consumers spent $38 more than the value of the gift card, and Square found that 17% of their transactions using a gift card resulted in overbalanced status, injecting more money into the bottom of your stock.

You can make gift cards more appealing by including unique artwork on the card, special packaging, and another fun holiday packaging to make the gesture even more special.

Don’t forget to create discounts and promotions, such as buying two gift cards and getting one for free; 25% off the entire purchase when you purchase a $75 gift card; or getting an exclusive gift with the purchase of a $100 or more gift card.

Finally, don’t forget that many people don’t want to spend time going to a store to buy or use a gift card. Offers digital gift cards that can be purchased and delivered online. Square reports that sales of e-gift cards doubled in 2020 and remained high into 2021. Additionally, the US gift and incentive card market is expected to reach $221 billion by 2024.

3. Remind clients/patients to use their benefits

Health insurance deductibles are usually reset in the new calendar year. If you’re in the medical field, encourage your patients to use the rest of their benefits. Annual checkups, specific procedures, or other medical treatments must be performed by December 31.

For non-medical businesses with a loyalty program, send promotions — like emails, social posts, and direct mail — that encourage customers to act quickly and use the software. their reward before Tet. Show them how many loyalty points/rewards they have and how much they can save on purchases, then put an expiration date front and center. A pro tip is to include a client’s name on a postcard or email to grab their attention. Ads like “Michelle, use your 235 bonus points by December 31st before they’re gone forever!” motivates customers to take action.

Adding a name to your marketing materials may not be a huge additional cost, but it will certainly make a big difference to your results. For instance, one of our HVAC customers, Sparrow Engineering, customized their postcard and generated $8,000 in revenue, representing an 894% ROI. My company, PostcardMania, has a results department that has reported dozens of successes like this with our personalized mailers.

I hope these three simple actions don’t add too much work or stress to your already busy vacation plans, but I can promise you the positive results you will get from them. Using these marketing tips will pay off when the ball is dropped.