Running a discount during the holiday season is a great way to draw customers into your store and boost sales during this busy time of year. But it’s not the only way to offer something of value to your customers during the holidays!

If you want to run a successful holiday promotion, without discounting your product, consider one of the seven holiday value ideas below.

1. Free gift wrapping

I can’t tell you what a great holiday value this is!

While I used to enjoy wrapping each and every gift with love and care, between pets that want to play in the wrapping paper and ribbons and spying eyes from kids of all ages, it seems to have become an impossible task these days.

For me, free gift wrapping is a lifesaver! And I’m not alone. Besides just not being able to get it done, there are a lot of folks out there who despise wrapping gifts. Some have a natural touch for it, while others just can’t seem to figure it out.

If offering free gift wrapping, make it easy on yourself by sticking to papers and embellishments that align with your brand.

Free gift wrapping is a really nice gesture that will make your customers’ lives a little bit easier during this crazy time of year. And we’ll thank you for it by remembering your shop throughout the new year.

2. Tips and tricks

Product, service, or industry-related tips and tricks are quick, digestible pieces of information that your customers will love.

If you are a service business like a spa, a Chiropractic office, or even a holistic herb shop, you could offer relaxation tips that will help your customers get through all the holiday stress. Not only does this provide holiday value, but this is a great way to showcase your services as well.

These work really well on Facebook or Twitter, and can also make a nice addition to any holiday emails you send out.

3. Guides

There are all kinds of guides that can add holiday value to your business this year.

If you have a local business that isn’t really geared toward the holidays, this is your chance to get in on the fun! Create a local holiday shopping guide with a map of all the best holiday shops, places to stop for a snack, and decorations to see. If you’re really in the spirit, partner with other local businesses and create the map together, making sure to include all of your business logos on a printable version of the guide.

If you’re an expert in your field, share what you know with your customers. Create an educational guide that teaches your customers about your product, service, or industry, and post it on Facebook or send it out in an email.

If you are an ecommerce business, you could create an online shopping guide to help customers find items that pair well with your products. This can save your customers a lot of time hunting for that perfect item to go with something they bought from your shop.

If you’re a blogger that covers a specific niche (i.e. camping, games, or tech), create a shopping guide of the latest or greatest items in your niche. And be sure to include links to where your readers can purchase each item. Not only does this continue to establish you as an expert, but if you’ve signed up to be an affiliate it can help you raise some extra holiday cash for your own shopping this year.

4. Free shipping

More and more people are shopping online these days because they just don’t have time to make a trip to the store, especially during the holidays. With so many people shopping the big boxes like Amazon and Walmart, they’ve gotten used to getting free shipping, and many people will look to make a purchase elsewhere if free shipping isn’t an option.

While offering free shipping effectively may not mean offering it to everyone, think about offering it to your most loyal customers, or over a certain purchase point. Sometimes customers will even purchase just a little more to reach that “free shipping” quota, so don’t write it off because it seems too costly. Try offering it to just a few customers and see how it goes. If your sales increase without sinking your bottom line, expand the offer.

5. Holiday contest

This holiday value offer is definitely one that you can partner with other local businesses on. Get together and see what you can come up with. Your free gift could be as small as a branded holiday ornament or as big as a gift basket full of goodies. Offer what makes sense for you.

Run a social media contest on Facebook and Instagram to boost engagement and increase followers. You can even run a Facebook Ad to get your contest in front of an even larger audience. Be sure to create a custom hashtag, and have entry requirements include following, sharing, and using your custom hashtag.

6. Checklist

Create a helpful checklist that customers can have on hand during the busy holiday season.

Your checklist could help customers prepare for holiday shopping so that they go into the process focused. Don’t be afraid to have fun with this one too. If you are a restaurant owner, include stopping at your restaurant to refuel as part of your checklist!

7. Holiday recipes

Sharing a recipe is free and easy when using a recipe card template, like this one from Canva.

Give your customers a special holiday recipe to add value without offering a discount.

If you are a restaurant owner, this is perfect for you because you probably already have so many tasty recipes on hand that you can simplify for the at-home cook. But you don’t have to be a chef to share a great recipe.

If you can, think about a particularly great holiday memory and how a favorite food plays into that memory, then write a blog post and share the link in an email.

If you don’t have one of your own, don’t be shy about sharing a recipe from someone else — just be sure to follow content curation best practices and give proper credit where credit is due.

By sharing a great recipe, not only will you be building stronger relationships with your customers but you’ll also be helping your customers to add some extra sparkle to their table this year.

Tip: To design a recipe card, use holiday image tools to create something seasonal and on-brand.

Get creative this holiday season

As powerful as discounts are, sometimes it is nice to change things up a bit. And when it comes to giving your customers something of value this holiday season, all it takes is a little elbow grease and some creativity.

Looking for more holiday marketing advice? Check out these Digital Marketing Tips for the Holidays.