“Bring in the recipe card. We’ll help you frame it so you can see the handwriting on both sides.”

That sentence could do more for a frame shop’s holiday marketing than another “Give something meaningful” graphic. It provides shoppers with an idea for the recipe card tucked in a kitchen drawer and shows them what someone in your shop knows how to do. It's creative, heartfelt, and useful. And it's not something that others will tell you to do. It shows the unique value proposition of working with you.

Large retailers can produce polished holiday campaigns at scale. You can build yours around the people customers will meet and the advice they’ll get when they come in. A recommendation from the person who uses the product, a tip from the owner who’s answered the same question for years, or a quick look at how your team packs an order gives you material that comes straight from your business. The more specific it is, the more it sounds like you and helps people get to know you.

This Small Business Season, “It’s the Thought That Counts” in the details your team thinks through for customers. Those details can make a strong case for shopping with you without turning your campaign into a debate about where people should spend their money.

Ask for a Staff Pick with a Reason

“What’s your favorite product?” will get you a list. “What would you give someone who loves to cook and already owns every kitchen gadget?” is more likely to get you a story worth sharing.

Maybe an employee suggests a jar of preserved lemons and explains how she uses them to perk up a weeknight dinner. Now the shopper has a gift and a serving idea to write on the card. Your employee has helped solve a problem a generic gift guide can easily miss and the reason behind the gift makes it much more appealing.

Ask a willing team member for one recommendation for a specific person, occasion, or budget. Capture their answer in two sentences, add the price and how to buy it, and use the same recommendation on a shelf card, in your email, and on social media. One good answer can earn its keep in three places.

Share the Answer You Give All the Time

What do customers ask you before they feel comfortable buying? Every question that falls in that category is a holiday marketing idea.

A bike shop owner, for instance, could explain what to bring when buying a helmet as a gift and how the recipient can come in for a fit check. That’s a detail the shopper may not have thought of. A caterer could show how they’d plan food for an open house where people come and go, compared with a dinner where everyone sits down together at the same time.

Use the words you’d use with a customer standing in front of you. Then give readers an easy next step. “Tell us how many people you’re expecting and how they’ll be eating. We’ll help you figure out what to order.” That’s a post a shopper can use, and it gives them a preview of what it’s like to work with you.

You could even create a chatbot that can help with sizing or serving questions, so the potential shopper needn’t wait to place an order. Make it easy for them to do business with you. And since you upload the advice to the AI chatbot yourself, it can be exactly what you would ask and say if you were picking up the phone and answering in person.

Show a Detail Your Team Thinks Through

Your team probably does things customers appreciate all the time. Sadly, the customers probably have no idea who the proverbial elves are in Santa’s workshop. Take a photo or record a quick clip of one of those steps. Explain what the detail does for the customer. A video of someone closing a pastry box is easy to scroll past. Add “We label the tops so you can set up the dessert table without opening every box,” and you’ve shown the thought behind an ordinary task.

You’ve also given customers a concrete way to connect shopping local with the people their purchases support. They can picture the person who helps them choose and the person who gets their order ready.

Give Your People a Say in What You Share

Invite employees to participate and make it easy to pass. Explain where the feature will appear and let them approve the quote and image (or video) before it goes live. Someone who enjoys giving recommendations might prefer to share a tip without their last name or have the camera show only their hands.

Keep the story focused on the work they’re comfortable sharing. Check photos and videos for order slips, customer names, and other private details. If you want to use a feature somewhere new, check with the employee first. And always make sure they’ve signed a media usage consent form. It’s easy to do this as part of your onboarding process but it’s also nice to include them before it hits their social media stream.

If you’re not sure how to promote your team and what their areas of expertise are, it’s likely you’re too close to what you do and the services you provide. If that’s the case, start with one question at your next team huddle or meeting. “What did you help a customer figure out this week?” Share one answer, with permission, where someone facing the same decision will see it.

When a shopper walks in and says, “I saw your post. I brought the recipe card,” your marketing has already done what your people do best. It helped someone see what was possible and thus, changed their holiday.