Sales and Marketing Strategies to Boost End-of-Year Sales in a Declining Market

Businesses operating in and with the cannabis industry face a long list of challenges as the industry and the economy struggle, but consecutive years of declining cannabis sales shouldn’t mean your business can’t close sales before the year ends. There are marketing strategies you can use right now to boost end-of-year sales in a declining market. 

5 Key Strategic Areas of Focus

To close more sales in the final weeks of the year, you have to be extremely strategic and laser-focused. Following are five strategic areas to focus your investments and efforts in order to have the most success.

1. B2B Sales Tips

To close sales, you need to target the right leads – those who are most likely to convert quickly. You also need to make sure your business stands out from competitors so leads who are ready to buy notice your brand for the right reasons (i.e., the reasons that will make them choose your brand over others).

Set daily goals for your sales team that include not just closed deals but also targets for calls, emails, and meetings with prospects. Don’t just focus on new customer leads. You should also spend time targeting current customers who are likely to buy additional products or services from your company.

With that in mind, here are five B2B sales tips you can use to drive results at year-end:

  • Increase B2B sales outreach
  • Leverage social media
  • Use B2B sales tools
  • Spread the word about sales promotions

Here’s How to Do It: Read Cannabiz Media’s full guide, B2B Sales Tips to Close More Deals at Year-End, for all of the details about the five sales tips listed above.

2. Marketing Programs

Both B2C and B2B consumers expect great deals and promotions at the end of the year, but don’t limit your marketing programs to discounts and freebies. There are many different types of programs you can launch to quickly generate year-end sales from new and existing customers.

Similar to the B2B sales tips discussed in #1 above, don’t just focus on new customer acquisition. Be sure to communicate with your current customers too. Email marketing is essential to maintain and strengthen your brand’s relationship with your customers and stay top-of-mind among prospects.

Five marketing programs that are known to be effective in the final weeks of the year include:

  • Referral programs
  • Bundled offers
  • Loyalty programs
  • Email marketing
  • Search-optimized holiday-related web pages

Here’s How to Do It: Read Cannabiz Media’s full guide, 5 Marketing Strategies to Drive Revenue before the New Year, for all of the details about the five marketing programs listed above.

3. Content Marketing

Content marketing can drive year-end sales. Even if there are only a few weeks left until the year ends, content marketing helps more people learn about your products, services, and offers. The goal to successful content marketing that drives quick results is to publish the right content and promote it aggressively.

The content you produce and publish must be highly targeted to the right audience in order to get attention, encourage sharing, and boost sales. Gift guides, videos, and visualizations work well for this purpose.

Keep in mind, a single piece of content won’t work. You need to surround your target audience with the most relevant content possible and make it as easy as possible for them to share your content and act on it (i.e., contact you to buy). 

Here are five highly effective ways to promote your year-end content:

  • Email marketing
  • Social media marketing
  • Influencer outreach
  • Digital advertising
  • SMS marketing

Here’s How to Do It: Read Cannabiz Media’s full guide, How to Boost Year-End Sales with Content Marketing, for all of the details about the content promotion options listed above.

4. Holiday Promotions

Consumers across markets and industries expect end-of-year promotions and holiday promotions during the final months and weeks of the year, so it’s important to give them what they want. They’re actively looking for deals at this time of year and may have budgets that need to be spent before the year ends.

Of course, not every type of promotion will work at the end of the year. The holiday promotions you create to boost year-end sales should not be complicated. Customers must be able to get the offer quickly and easily. Therefore, focus on creating holiday promotions that drive sales for products and services with short sales cycles. 

Here are five holiday promotions that work well during the final weeks of the year:

  • Limited time and limited quantity offers
  • Referral program incentive increases
  • Date-specific offers
  • Buy-one-get-one (BOGO) offers
  • Countdown promotions

Here’s How to Do It: Read Cannabiz Media’s full guide, 5 Holiday Promotions to Beat Your Year-End Revenue Goals, for all of the details about the holiday promotions listed above.

5. Consumer Behavior

In a declining market, consumers’ behaviors change, and you need to consider these changes in order to develop successful end-of-year sales and marketing strategies. Depending on a B2C or B2B consumer’s response to a negative economic environment, psychologists have found that the consumer may eliminate purchases, delay purchases, or continue spending as usual. 

Based on the different consumer responses, it’s important to understand which behavior your customers are likely to exhibit so you can develop the most effective marketing strategies. Review your buyer personas and update them to add information about these responses. This is critical in order to make the right marketing investments with the best messages and offers.

Following are four tips to increase sales using psychology and strategic investments:

  • Analyze and identify opportunities
  • Re-evaluate your customers
  • Focus on loyal customers (big and small)
  • Develop the right offers and invest in promoting them

Here’s How to Do It: Read Cannabiz Media’s full guide, How to Use Psychology and Strategy to Increase Sales in a Declining Cannabis Market, for all of the details about the psychology and consumer behavior tips listed above.

Key Takeaways

The cannabis industry may be struggling, but that doesn’t mean your business has to struggle. You can take strategic steps and make specific sales and marketing investments to increase year-end sales. Implement the strategies, tips, and steps discussed above to beat your sales goals this year.

You can boost your year-end sales by connecting with cannabis license holders across the U.S. and international territories with a subscription to the Cannabiz Media License Database. Schedule a demo to see how it can help you beat your sales goals.

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