For many entrepreneurs, the festive season is the busiest time of the year. Sales increase due to consumers spending more on gifts or their vacations. To fight the lucrative, yet overwhelming rush of consumers, your business must prepare for the holiday season.
December has officially arrived and everyone across the globe is looking forward to the holidays. In South Africa, schools have already finished exams and there is a countdown until the final bell rings, doors close and families can head to the beach. However, entrepreneurs experience this period very differently. For them, it’s time to roll up their sleeves, hunker down and meet their customer’s expectations.
We’ve gathered a list, checked it twice and wrote it here so you can be prepared for the holiday season.
1. Inventory and Packaging
The most important part of preparing for the coming holiday season is to start as early as possible. Consider every aspect of your business, especially the parts affected by suppliers closing over this period.
You can look at the previous year’s sales to forecast the approximate sales for the current year. This will indicate all the raw materials, packaging and other consumables like stickers, paper or tape that you might need to purchase beforehand.
Don’t forget to also calculate the items that will help you run your business. If you need gloves, safety masks or other disposable items like paper towels, ensure that you have enough of these as well.
2. Holiday Schedules for Staff and Delivery
When it comes to holiday schedules, preparing for the festive season means considering shipping or courier companies closing and staff putting in leave. Your schedule needs to take these into consideration.
Ask your employees to communicate beforehand when they plan to take paid time off (PTO) and where necessary negotiate with them who can work then. With all the public holidays in December, production will also be hampered, so plan for these days in your schedules too.
Brick-and-mortar stores have different schedules to work out from e-commerce shops. If delivery will close at a certain time, for instance, e-commerce stores need to communicate this to potential customers. Clearly state when the last date for shipping will be on your website and social media. In fact, take the time to also prepare a content calendar for your social media if there will be days that you are not focused on posting.
3. Decorate
What is the holiday without some festive enthusiasm? If you have a physical store, show your customers that you are ready for the holiday season by decorating your store with Christmas decorations (if that is something you celebrate), lean into the summer vibe or show that you are looking forward to the new year.
Decorations can be as simple as hanging a few cheap and affordable decorations around the shop and decorating a window. These decorations can be mirrored on your social media content, either by creating content that has the same theme or sharing photos and videos of the freshly added decorations.
4. Seasonal Deals
Seasonal promotions might just be the boost you are looking for. Promote seasonal deals by giving discounts on products that are popular over this period. Some ideas include gifts for Christmas or other celebrations, food items, summer items like sunscreen or swimming costumes, and even novelty items relating to the season.
Another reason to provide seasonal deals is that this is a good time to clean out your storeroom of old stock and enter the new year with new inventory. Items that usually sell at a slower pace can be placed on promotion to clear your shelves of them.
5. Optimise Your Website
All businesses can benefit from an optimised website, but this is particularly vital to e-commerce businesses. Your customer experience should be amazing, gently guiding them through their journey towards conversion.
Make sure there are no issues with your checkout and that the website is easy to navigate. You might even feature your most popular products on the home page for easy accessibility.
6. Marketing Across Channels
Utilise all your marketing channels such as social media and newsletters to advertise your seasonal promotions and communicate all the important information your audience needs to know over this period.
You can include in your marketing campaign why your customers to visit your store this holiday season. Perhaps you have the only unique gifting store in town? Or you sell handcrafted decorations. Take the time to show what your unique selling point is. You can even create your own gimmick – collaborate with other small businesses to bring a fun Christmas experience to life or a pop-up photo booth.
Now that you have your priority list, start ticking off these tasks. With good planning and thorough preparation, your business will conquer the December rush.
Is your business closing down for the festive season? Stay tuned for our follow-up article about how to prepare for the December shutdown.
