Marketing plans in focus as local small businesses prepare for holidays | Business

ANDERSON — The holiday season, in addition to being the busiest time of the year for many small businesses, also represents a last, best chance to bolster revenue and turn a profit for the year.

With inflation moderating, small businesses are still being challenged by high inventory costs and consumers who are still hesitant to loosen purse strings.

Those factors make an operation’s marketing plan centrally important, several local experts and entrepreneurs said.

Lonnie Leeper, the dean of Anderson University’s College of Business, Engineering, Science and Technology, said increasing prices are among the most important elements for small business owners to keep in mind when formulating marketing strategies.

“Inflation and costs are still the main driver for a small business. Those are major concerns,” Leeper said. “When folks are thinking about their marketing approaches, they need to make sure whenever they are proposing a deal or incentive, it needs to make sense in light of increased costs so the growth is profitable.”

Josh Zacchaeus, who opened the Exchange Coffee Company in Anderson earlier this year, said his marketing efforts have been focused on persistent messaging and word of mouth. He said he does not plan to change that approach going into the holiday season.

“We are not necessarily doing anything special for advertising,” Zacchaeus said. “We are continuing to keep the same mold we are already doing.

“We really believe it is about consistency,” he added. “It is not about, all of a sudden, doing a whole new campaign for the holidays, but it is about staying consistent in the brand and the image we are trying to promote.”

In other industries, business owners use the run-up to the holidays to pull back on certain campaigns and consider tweaking their advertising approaches for the year ahead.

For example, Noah Gascho, director of golf at the Elwood Golf Links, said that with the sport’s offseason comes an opportunity for the club to assess what worked to drive revenue over the last several months. He said the company running the club, which opened in 2016, typically does not start marketing for the holiday season until a week or two before Thanksgiving.

“The only thing we advertise for would be memberships for 2025,” Gascho said. “If people want to buy lesson packages for Christmas presents, or if they want to buy any merchandise as gifts, that would be all we really market for in the winter.”

Leeper said there are steps small businesses should take to develop customized strategies that work for them.

“It is important to define the goal, examine what you are currently doing, identify and define who your target customer is,” Leeper said. “Then choose the strategy that best reaches that target customer and ensures that you are able to grow whatever goal you are working on.”

Terry Truitt is CEO and president of the Flagship Enterprise Center, which helps local small businesses with their marketing. Truitt recommends businesses prioritize being online just as much as their brick-and-mortar presence.

“We always encourage small business owners to plan early and be adaptable,” Truitt said in an email. “With the growing shift to online shopping, it’s essential to ensure their digital presence is up to date and optimized for the holidays.”

Zacchaeus said he plans to send loyalty rewards and coupons to entice customers over the next few months. He also said the shop is considering promotional deals for those customers.

“Primarily, we do SMS marketing, so through texting,” Zacchaeus said. “Continuing to use social media, continuing to use SMS, those are the two primary ways that we stay engaged because we are not looking to build this statewide brand. We’re just looking to build a local brand that relies pretty much on Madison County.”

Truitt said small businesses should also pay attention to the inventory customers are buying.

“For many businesses, the holidays can make or break the year,” he said. “Our coaching always includes a focus on managing inventory and cash flow.

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