Seasons Cheer

Before holiday festivities ramp up, so should your business. If you’re a small business owner or manager, it may take longer for you to get everything in order before the holiday season arrives. So, whenever possible, start making a plan for how your business will embrace the upcoming challenge. Read on for tips from Patrick H Bowman on how to keep things moving before and during the ever-important holiday season.

Prepare for the Rush
If you’re in a retail establishment, there’s a good chance that your most popular products will be even more in demand during November and December. At some point soon, take a moment to carefully review your holiday sales for the last three to five years and plan to increase production or order enough products to accommodate your customers.

If you have yet to implement a robust method of monitoring your finances, take the opportunity to integrate this now. Bench recommends investing in an accounting platform with real-time financial insights so you can see your cash flow, as well as what drives it, trends, changes and history. This will make it far easier for you to know better where to put your money this season and to set benchmarks.

It may also be necessary to bring in extra help to ensure you are well-staffed. Seasonal workers can get you over the hump by handling certain aspects of your business that don’t require your hands-on attention. This may be extra servers, additional cashiers, or people to stock shelves overnight.

Take the interview process seriously. Even though they won’t be with you forever, they will still represent your business, and you want the best employees. Before the holidays arrive, brush up on your interviewing techniques to ensure you’re asking the right questions when it’s time to bring in some workers to lend a helping hand.

Change your Business Model
While you don’t have to change your business operations altogether, the holiday season may be a good time to supplement your selling practices. This might include things such as launching a store on the Facebook Marketplace or selling through Etsy. If you don’t hand-make your products, there is another option that can increase efficiency. E-commerce is the way of the future, and, as Red Stag Fulfillment notes, a dropshipping business model can help you grow your profits without having to put your hands on products. Plus, it frees up space since you aren’t stocking each item you sell.

Market to Your Customers
Regardless of the time of year, your customers are the heart of your business and the only reason you continue to pay the light bill. Get creative with your holiday marketing campaign and make an effort to appeal to your patrons. For instance, use a free logo maker app to create an eye-catching logo in just a few minutes!

You could also try decorating your professional office in an inclusive way so as not to offend your clientele or decking the halls to the hilt to attract parents and children. You can also update your website to reflect the season with a dose of holiday flare.

Above all, don’t forget about content marketing, which attracts and retains customers. When you create and publish content, whether on your web site, through blog posts or posts to your social media platforms, interest in your product or service is triggered and your brand grows. Content marketing helps to build relationships and trust in your business. Check out more about this unique area of advertising at Cornerstone Content.

Maintain Communication
In the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it’s easy to lose track of customer communication. But this is the worst time of year to fall out of touch with your customers. As a business owner, it is only responsible to prioritize interaction throughout the holiday season. You might send a handwritten note in a business holiday card, update your hours on Google, or simply spend an afternoon calling your best customers to wish them a happy holiday. There are a wealth of ideas to inspire you; that way, you’ll have plenty of ideas in time for those colder months.

Give Back
Finally, don’t lose sight of what’s important this season: your community. Make plans to give back to the town that supports you. You might do this by hosting a free event for children, donating to the local food bank, or providing a holiday dinner to a few families in need. Your actions won’t go unnoticed, and you never know what seemingly insignificant act will change someone’s life for the better. Speak to different organizations and see how you can benefit your community the most.

It’s going to be a hectic few weeks during the holidays, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. Remember, make sure you have enough staff and products to cover the rush, give your customers what they want, utilize content marketing in your marketing, and keep all lines of communication open. By getting started now, you can have everything lined up and ready to go. That way, you can focus on your business — and your customers!