How To Prepare Your Business for Christmas
Does your business benefit from the festive period, or do you close up for the holidays? Either way, it’s best to start planning in advance.
Get ready for the Christmas rush
If your workplace gets busier over Christmas, you’ll need take a few things into account. The secret to success lies in effective organisation, particularly for those in the retail sector.
- Try to anticipate demand. Identify your best sellers and increase your stock.
- Plan additional costs. You may need temporary staff, overtime hours for existing staff and strong investment in marketing for the Christmas season.
- Optimise your website for Christmas shopping. Be ready for a higher flow of traffic by updating the site with Christmas-related content and present your products as idea choices for gifts. Efficient eCommerce is so important at this time of year.
- Define your business strategy. Create special promotions such as discounts, free shipping or fancy packaging. Stand out from competitors by offering better facilities - for example; home delivery, book in one click, personalised greetings.
Get ready to switch off
If you close up for Christmas, coming back after the break can be a nightmare if work hasn’t been planned ahead to avoid accumulation. Make sure you don’t lose any customers by following these tips:
- Be realistic. Don’t accept orders that you aren’t certain you will complete on time. Prioritise your tasks accordingly.
- Pay bills in advance.
- Communicate the opening and closing dates to customers and clients in advance. Share the information on social networks in order to reach the maximum amount of customers.
- Set up an automatic email response and schedule regular updates on your social networks.
- Before closing, switch off the heating and any electrical equipment. (Just reducing the temperature by one degree can save you 8% on your electricity bill!)
- Disconnect mentally...but don’t switch off completely! Keep in touch with your customers if they need something urgent.
So whether you’re heading home or are preparing for business, operative planning will help you boost your business and keep your reputation intact. At Drimlike we’re already planning Christmas! Are you prepared?