The holiday season  is a time for family and festivity, but also signifies big opportunities for retailers. The National Retail Federation reported that in 2016, $658.3 billion was spent in November and December, signifying that with successful marketing, companies can thrive during this period. So how can you take advantage of this season to onboard new clientele and build your business? Let’s take a look at some key tips to keep in mind for your business this holiday season.

1. Start Early

Being prepared and spreading the word early about your holiday promotions is essential to a successful retail holiday period. If you start in November, for example, the season is over before you know it and not only do you not take advantage of people’s shopping habits but you don’t get the chance to optimize your marketing campaigns and maximize on sales. In fact, according to the NRF’s survey of the 2016 holiday season, more than half of consumers started either researching or purchasing in October or earlier. Imagine all the customer base you would miss out on if your promotions and inventory weren’t in order? In fact, Paige Gerber, the Head of Marketing at e-commerce company, Vantage, mentioned that in 2016, Black Friday and Cyber Monday shifted from just two days of sales to a whole long weekend, with bigger discounts, longer sales periods and with retailers acquiring up to 59 percent more customers. This proves that holidays such as Cyber Monday are an ideal environment for firms to expand their customer base, especially if you start early and have a couple of months to attract new business.

2. Be Creative With Your Marketing Tactics

Not only do retailers have to ensure brand awareness in-store and online, but nowadays a simple sales discount is not always enough when it comes to adding value. Being interactive, by organizing an event or getting involved with the community, is a great way for customers to get to know your brand and build a stronger relationship. It’s also important to have deals that directly benefit your customers during the holiday season — for candy and food stores, this seems straightforward, but if your business is not directly related to the holidays then try partnering up with appropriate businesses to offer a competitive advantage. You could even get as creative as McDonald’s did when they introduced a character across all their marketing efforts during the holidays. They created the store of Juliette, who was a doll that came to life — by featuring across all efforts, the character brought synergy to the campaign and perfectly aligned with the holiday festivities.

3. Communicate With Consumers

Especially during the holiday season, customers have their pick at hundreds of different retailers, experiences and promotions, making the market incredibly competitive, and easy for customers to remember everything. Initiate strong relationships with your clientele during this period by constantly communicating with them and ensuring you’re on their mind. Try sending regular text messages or emails with new promotions, follow up with people who have left items in their online cart and use geographical targeting to attract consumers in the area. Through a constant flow of content, your audience will remain aware of your brand and the chances of conversion therefore increase.

The holiday season is great time for retailers to expand their business and onboard new clientele. With shopping on everyone’s mind, try and use these tips to take full advantage of the season and deliver results.