If you own or manage a shop, it’s never too early to start preparing for Christmas. In fact, you probably started to think about it in January. Looking at what you could do differently and how to improve for next year. Well, now the festive season is well and truly on the approach, it’s time to start kicking things up a gear and start some serious Christmas preparation. Here is what you need to do.
Clean Up
You’re likely to start getting busier as the weather gets colder. This means there will be less time for tasks such as cleaning and maintenance. So, get to it now. Give your store a thorough clean and do any repair work you need to. Make sure you use LED lighting systems so that you can show off your stock at its best. Then, move up to your stockrooms and back of house areas. Getting these tidy and organized now will allow you to focus on service and easily see what stock you’ve got when the festive rush starts.
Give Your Website a Makeover
If you’ve got a website, blog or even just social media profiles you may want to consider preparing some festive changes for later on in the year. Adding some small festive touches such as a snowy back drop or some festive pictures can help your online customers get into the festive spirit, making them much more likely to spend money.
Make Sure You’ve Got the Stock
One thing you don’t want to happen when things pick off, is running out of stock. Look at last year’s sale, research how your competition did and what they are planning this year, analyze market trends and predictions, and access your current stock levels with an in depth stock take. Then, start preparing an ordering plan to ensure you are well stocked when you need it.
Hire Extra Staff
As well as extra stock, you may want to consider extra staff to help. Start advertising for holiday temps now to make sure you get them trained up in time.
Consider Special Offers
When it comes to festive special offers, if you are a small company you won’t be able to compete with bigger brands when it comes to events like black Friday and cyber Monday. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t offer anything. If you really can’t compete on these days, don’t try.
Offer something different instead. You could entice customers by offering to donate money to charity on these days and build up a reputation as a company that cares, customers care about your ethos.
You could also offer smaller incentives and reward loyalty by offering free delivery or a free gift-wrapping service. Remember, people like free stuff, no matter how small.
The festive period is a fantastic time for sales. But, without planning and preparation you could either fail to maximize on potential or find yourself struggling to cope with extra custom. Make sure you start putting some plans into place now so your store can have the best Christmas possible.
