For some savvy holiday shoppers, holiday gift-buying starts once the ghosts and goblins are stored away and the trick-or-treating candy is all gobbled up. But for other busy consumers, December 25^th quickly sneaks up on them, and they may find themselves rushing around to find those perfect last-minute gifts—with only days left to purchase.

For small businesses like yours, this shopping urgency can be a goldmine—that is if you know how to grab the attention of these last-minute shoppers. Here are some tips for cashing in on the last-minute gift-buying frenzy.

The holidays are not only a time of gift-giving and partying, but they also represent less work and more time off for busy employees. And with more time off comes travel plans which includes hotel stays. Take advantage of this seasonal vacation rush and tailor some of your hotel marketing strategies to this holiday traveling crowd. 

Here are some effective holiday marketing strategies to put your hotel on the map and attract more foot traffic this coming season.

If you are in real estate, you know that leads are the lifeblood of your business, and without them, you cannot grow or sustain revenue. The industry is also highly competitive and unstable at times, so to succeed, you need a unique edge and a steady stream of incoming leads that continue to pour in even during the dry months.

Below are several effective lead generation strategies to help you generate new and fresh ongoing real estate leads.

Referrals

What do the names Harvey, Irma, and Maria have in common? If you live anywhere near the Southern and Southeastern part of the United States, these words are more than just people’s names. They represent some of the most disastrous hurricanes this season. 

If your business is located anywhere near hurricane-battered states or you have experienced emergency situations like earthquakes, snow storms, tornadoes or fires, you are likely on high alert. Even a nasty ice storm or high-wind thunderstorm can create emergency conditions and make it difficult to resume operations. 

What if there were a selling strategy that had huge growth potential and did not require a lot of time and effort to implement? Well, there is, and it's called “upselling,” and as a small business, it can boost your earnings considerably and also help customers get more value from your brand. 

Not every business should upsell, however. You must have the right products to upsell and do it the right way to get value from it. Otherwise, you can damage the relationships you have with your customers and hurt your brand reputation.

What is upselling?

Nothing is quite as personal and "feel good" as a phone call. Even with the rise of technology, verbal communication still rivals texting and email as it opens the door for a stronger emotional connection between the two parties. 

Establishing these instant connections is important for businesses that want to build a strong, loyal customer base. But, making phone calls to each individual customer can be costly and time-consuming, if not impossible—that is, until the introduction of voice broadcast.

Did you ever talk to people and realize minutes into the conversation that they weren't even listening? Ever feel alone, confused, and abandoned? Well, that’s what customers experience when businesses focus on everything else but them. 

When setting up a Voice Broadcast recording for your incoming or outgoing calls, it is crucial to prepare a flawless script. While Voice Broadcasting can produce some pretty terrific results – increasing your ROI and customer awareness – it can also have disastrous results if you are not careful. Here are three easy steps that you can employ to write a Voice Broadcast that works for your business:

An effective voice broadcasting campaign is a great way to save both time and money, as it allows you to communicate with hundreds of thousands of potential and actual clients at once via one spot-on message. Used correctly, a voice broadcasting strategy significantly improves customer relations and experiences. Correct use not only means effective use, but also following federal do-not-call and phone marketing guidelines.