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Over the years, it has become well known to business owners and major industries that the best time to hit big in sales is the Christmas and New Year holidays. The season comes with a lot of spending and business owners often record their peak sales at this period; even without any extra marketing. Competition for Christmas shopping cash is fierce and any business owner who is not incisive may very quickly lose out on all the extra profit that comes with the season. How, then, can you as a business owner have an edge over all the juicy Christmas offers flying out there from the alcoves of your competitors? Here are five tips to help you out:

* Give your business space a festive touch: this involves decorating your shop or office space in Christmas colours. If you have a website, do the same. Beautify them with Christmas lights, tinsels and bells and throw in a lot of red, white and green colours. Your shop and site will sure look attractive. Besides, customers like to identify with what they believe in and since Christmas is celebrated worldwide, you will have several of them trouping in to patronize you and share in the fun and euphoria of the season. * Come up with exceptional bargains: Christmas is a time when everyone is looking ways to cut back on expenses and also show some love. As a result, discounts and promotional offers are always a welcome idea. However, knowing that several businesses will have sale prices, unusual discounts, or other offers, you may have to add a twist to yours. You could try the “buy one, get one free” approach or attach the purchase of an item to a charity donation, such that for every item a customer buys, a percentage of the funds goes to charity, etc. * Throw in some promos and free biz: everybody likes free stuff. Adding this to your marketing mix can pay off handsomely in patronage. Try attaching redeemable vouchers to your products; a good example of this is LG, you buy one of their electronic TV, you get an extra appliance for free.Also put in exciting promos that involve quizzes, search hunts, etc. customers will love the fun and patronize you for it. * Know when to break even: sometimes, business isn’t about profit. In order not to incur losses; you may have to opt for breaking even. You could do this by running a clearance sale and giving out products at half price or auction rates. Huge discounts like this are particularly advised when the products in question are perishable, occupy lots of space (which can increase holding cost) or are soon to be obsolete. Now, rather than make no money on these products at all, it is better to sell them at giveaway prices while they are still marketable. * Go the extra mile for your customers: it’s Christmas after all. Do a little more than you usually would for your customers; especially those who have being loyal to you the entire business year. Offer free delivery on purchases, free gift wrapping services, multiple payment options, etc. just a little more something to make your customers happy and less inconvenienced. You certainly will be the better for it. It’s not over till it’s over. Never say “after all Christmas is almost over or new year is almost here”; the struggle continues. Always bear in mind that there is room for improvement; room to do more, put smiles on your customers’ faces and most important to you, increase your patronage level. Don’t stop or give up as the season is still on, more and more people are shopping every day and you can redirect a good percentage of that cash flow to your doorstep if you’ll just apply these tips.