Didn't prepare your marketing for Christmas? Quick and affordable solutions for B2C to increase holiday revenue.

The Christmas season can feel like a blessing for small B2C businesses, as it’s the best time of year to sell. Customers are actively searching for deals and ideas, are less price-sensitive, and are more emotionally driven.

Ideally, Christmas marketing preparations should start in September or October. You can already see big companies promoting their Advent calendars and ready-made products at that time, meaning they began even earlier. The rule of thumb is: the earlier you start, the more likely you are to secure a good service provider who will be available during this busy period of the year and will have everything ready in November when people start shopping more actively. However, many small businesses can’t keep up with that pace (due to a lack of employees or being overwhelmed with other operational tasks) or simply don’t have the budget. And this is the other side of the Christmas rush for them.

In this article, I will break down affordable and engaging Christmas marketing tactics you can execute quickly to tap into the holiday season and increase your sales without overburdening yourself. 

This advice will be most valuable to small B2C companies with direct access to their production/packaging units, as they can execute everything within a couple of days.

1.“Christmas Edition” marketing without changing the product

You don’t need to develop new holiday items. If you have access to a print shop right now, you can print small Christmas-themed labels for some of your products or packages, or bundle them with a Christmas item, such as a candy cane, which you can purchase quickly with cash (please talk to your accountant first).

Pro tip: Use it on social media to increase engagement by sharing related posts and activities that mention these Christmas editions.

2. Add 3–5 “holiday use cases” for your Christmas advertisement. 

• Last-minute gift for under €20

• For the person who has everything

• A Christmas present for mum

On Christmas, people usually search for categories (as they first search for ideas), not products.

3. Launch a mini Christmas marketing campaign on your social media

Instead of planning a whole Christmas campaign, use organic micro-content bursts (of course, you can always promote some of them). These are daily or every-other-day content pieces that are easy to execute and build momentum fast.

Ideas can include:

• “Gift idea of the day.”

• Daily “holiday …… (hack, use, etc.)” related to your product

• “Today’s 10-minute Christmas deal” (flash sale windows)

• Product as a part of the Christmas decoration

4. Christmas postcards

If you know of a printing service available, you can print postcards and add them to some orders. Alternatively, send a digital one to your customers on Christmas.

Pro tip: Have you already sent any Christmas deals or offers to your email and social media subscribers? If not, do it now, as it could bring you tons of extra orders.

5. Lean into holiday-themed UGC

User-generated content is free, fast, and trustworthy. Make it easy and fun for your customers to participate.

Some ideas:

• “Show us your Christmas setup featuring our product.”

• “Unwrap your order with us - holiday edition.”

• “Your most creative Christmas use of our [product].”

  
  

Pro tip:

Make it an online competition with a chance to win something (such as a €30 gift card) - this dramatically increases participation.

6. Bring Christmas to your website & mobile app

It could be:

• A Christmas banner with a simple (but realistic) promise (e.g.: “All orders across Switzerland are shipped in 24 hours until Dec 20”)

• A “Best Gifts Under €20/€50” section

• A holiday-themed pop-up with a simple discount or free shipping threshold

  
  

Pro tip:

Include a countdown showing how many days remain to order and receive delivery before Christmas. This alone can increase conversions by 10-18% for small shops, provided you have enough traffic.

7. Run a Christmas collaboration with another small business

Find a complementary brand and exchange audiences & products as a part of a Christmas giveaway or competition. For small businesses where the decision-making process is fast, coordination takes two to three days and attracts warm new leads immediately.

Collaboration examples:

• A local candle brand teams with a local jewellery brand

• A healthy snack brand teams with a sports inventory producer from the same city

Execution:

• Co-host a giveaway

• Cross-promote each other’s products in stories and emails to build anticipation.

• Create a small joint bundle, or exchange the product and send it to a random winner (s) with their next purchase. Mention people in stories for transparency. 

7. Update your current social media content with Christmas BTS, joyful music, holiday elements on camera

Examples:

• Packing orders with Christmas music

• Showcasing your team’s favourite holiday product

• BTS with your joyful “holiday chaos” moments

  
  

This builds emotional connection with your customers fast. Make sure to show Christmas content as often as possible.

Conclusion

You don’t need a huge budget or weeks of preparation to create Christmas magic for your customers. With only three weeks left, focus on speed, effectiveness, and emotional resonance.

Need help with your marketing strategy to avoid falling behind schedule, as happened this time? Contact me.