Deborah Tutnauer Entrepreneur Success Coach

Inner Game Transformational Success Coaching for Business Clarity and Authentic Impact and Income

  • Home
  • Testimonials
  • Work With
  • About
  • Blog
You are here: Home / Entrepreneur Advice / How to Protect Your Small Business from the Holiday-Itis Infection

How to Protect Your Small Business from the Holiday-Itis Infection

December 2, 2015 By Deborah Tutnauer

How to Prevent Holiday-Itis from Sickening Your Small Business

It’s called  “The Holiday Season” – a time of joy and love and merriment, extending from Thanksgiving through

holiday-season-marketing

Protect Your Small Business from Holiday-Itis

New Years in the United States. We watch movies that unfold like Kodak moments, complete with gently falling snow and hot chocolate around the perfect hearth. We sing songs about the wonders of the season that invoke feelings of loving family and friends joined together in peace-on-earth-goodwill-to-men (and women).

Yet in the world of business The Holiday Season is anything but gentle and kind. Instead it has become frantic and intense, filled with pressure to sell – to take advantage of the buying frenzy fueled by consumerism that has invaded our culture at this time of year. Even companies with the most solid marketing and messaging foundation often feel they cannot help but get caught up in the negative momentum to do more – market more – sell more. There is a great fear of loss associated with jumping on The Holiday Season sales bandwagon, but is it really the right move for your business?

You’ve worked hard all year to develop and implement a solid sales and marketing foundation. Ideally you have clarified your message, your methods and your audience. Your marketing goals and action steps have been designed to create growth, impact and income. Then comes The Holiday Season and the pressure causes you to be afraid and maybe even greedy. After all, this is the time of year that Americans wake up at 2:00 AM to stand on cold dark streets to buy at a discount, products they have been eyeing all year long. You do not want to be left out or miss an opportunity to increase your sales (says the little voice in your head).

Yet for most small businesses, the consumer shopping frenzy is not aimed directly at their product category. For those who do deal in consumer goods like kitchen appliances, electronics, toys and clothing one would hope you have built into your yearly marketing plan an authentic holiday marketing campaign that builds on the messaging of your brand year round. For the rest of us, in order to maintain not only our sanity, but the very crucial authenticity of our brand we must not succumb to the pressures but instead be strategic in how we market through The Holiday Season.

Holiday-Itis  is defined by high anxiety-compelling social media posts and marketing blasts that feel inauthentic and out of line with your company’s normal communication strategy. It takes over for good judgment and compels falsely cheery delivery of marketing spam in the guise of a Holiday buying opportunity for one’s customers. To prevent Holiday-itis, plan for the The Holiday Season in your yearly marketing plan and keep it authentic and on-brand. If you haven’t done so by now, do your best not to get caught up in the swirling frantic energy of the season in a manner that causes you to lose sight of what’s most important, as you present your marketing and messaging to your audience. Maintain the real spirit of the holidays, in your day to day activities and in all your communication. Peace on Earth, Goodwill to all People.


 

This article, written by Deborah Tutnauer, originally appeared in the Kabbage.com 15 Weeks of Tips to Help You Survive and Thrive this Holiday Season 

 

 

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Connect
Deborah Tutnauer
Entrepreneur Business Success Coach at Deborah Tutnauer, LLC
Inspiring change in people for over 25 years, Deborah Tutnauer, MEd, MSWdigs deep to help authentic entrepreneurs move away from the stories that no longer serve them while clarifying and solidifying those that really do! Deborah helps frustrated entrepreneurs get exquisitely clear about meaning, purpose and expertise, then facilitates the creation of a financially sustainable and joyfully structured framework in which business and business people thrive.

Coaching both privately and in groups, Deborah is also a speaker, author, event leader and consultant. Creator of the Foundation and Framework Intensive, Question Master and Leader of the Entrepreneur Business Success Club, Deborah has been called an “Architect of Magical Business and Soul Structure”by her clients because she has a powerful ability to perform alchemy, changing passions and dreams into money and time by design.

Choose a Complimentary Vision Exploration for Your Business

Stay focused and in the Loop.
Subscribe to Blog Updates
Connect
Latest posts by Deborah Tutnauer (see all)
  • How to Grow Business with Local Paid Advertising – Online - January 2, 2018
  • Wow! Just Wow. - September 15, 2017
  • Dear America - November 10, 2016

Comments

  1. Hrvoje Horvat says

    December 22, 2015 at 10:48 am

    That is a nice name “Holiday-itis” Really crazy times. But, I agree with you. We all have to be prepared for this days in any way. From buying the presents in last moment to take care of our business. Great post! Thank you for sharing it!
    Hrvoje Horvat recently posted…Step out of the shadowMy Profile

    Reply
    • Deborah Tutnauer says

      December 27, 2015 at 9:32 pm

      Thank you for your comment Hrvoje. I hope you had a great holiday.
      Deborah Tutnauer recently posted…Men vs. Women and the Great Money Value DebateMy Profile

      Reply
  2. Deborah Tutnauer says

    November 7, 2017 at 4:24 pm

    The 2018 Version – The Holiday Thing and how to rise above.
    https://deborahtutnauer.com/entrepreneur-success-coach/three-lies-about-holiday-season-business/
    Deborah Tutnauer recently posted…Three Lies About Holiday Season Non-Retail BusinessMy Profile

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Three Lies About Holiday Season Business - Best Way to Grow Business During the Holiday Season says:
    October 31, 2017 at 3:17 pm

    […] the guise of a Holiday buying opportunity for one’s customers” – as I wrote about in How to Protect Your Business from Holiday-Itis. Hopefully this is not who you want to be, nor the brand that you want to portray . Instead, the […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Why I love CommentluvShow more posts

Search My Site

Connect With Deborah

Connect by Email Click Here Connect by Phone - 970-209-7473 Complimentary Vision and Strategy Consultation Click Here Connect on Social Media
Facebook with Deborah Tutnauer Twitter with Deborah Tutnauer LinkedIn with Deborah Tutnauer

Articles and Appearances on Top Websites

How Women Undervalue Themselves in the Marketplace - Illumination and a Plan for Change

Social Selling on Curatti

How Successful People Think with Don Purdum

Fearlessly Questioning Hating Money with Joey Giangola

Entrepreneur Wisdom on Launch and Hustle

Secrets of Thriving Business

300% Traffic Increase on Blogger Network

Unleash Greatness with Enstine Muki

What People Are Saying

"Deborah Tutnauer came into my life...and now she is the little voice in my head always saying, “Remember the big picture.” As business owners, that’s our REAL job! .... Deborah helped me create a few short and long term goals to grow our customer base, improve their loyalty, and, most recently, log a couple of record sales days online. She also helped me recognize the small business pitfalls I was experiencing and organize my time and focus in order to work more efficiently and more effectively.
I would recommend hiring Deborah to other small business owners, who want to lay out and achieve their business goals through a diverse range of personal and operational improvements." Brooke Furminsky - The Angling Bookstore December 2015

“Deborah is one of the most positive and energetic people I’ve met in my career. She is an excellent coach and mentor with a wealth of experience. She has been instrumental in my taking a giant step forward in my business model. Her uplifting words of wisdom and encouragement have kept me going through a very challenging time. I would recommend her highly.” – Rick Binder, Personal Trainer – Entrepreneur. San Diego, CA , May 2013

See What Others Are Saying

"“I had the pleasure to work with Deborah for 4 months. She showed me the ropes to help me improve my strategies as a business owner, and gave me plenty of ideas to work with. She also helped me better direct my efforts so that I would be able to attract the right clients for my business.>
As a coach she is very easy to talk to and knows how to listen as well. If you lack confidence or knowledge to be able to run a successful business, I would recommend Deborah Tutnauer to help you on the right tracks.” Sylviane Nuccio June 2015

Recent Posts

  • How to Grow Business with Local Paid Advertising – Online
  • Wow! Just Wow.
  • Dear America
  • The End Value of Small Business Coaching Experience
  • How to Scale Your Coaching Business
grow business facebook

How to Grow Business with Local Paid Advertising – Online

life-work-balance

Wow! Just Wow.

after-the-election

Dear America

entrepreneur business coaching

The End Value of Small Business Coaching Experience

coaching-business

How to Scale Your Coaching Business

Copyright © 2023 Deborah Tutnauer · Privacy Policy & Disclaimer · Contact