For many small businesses around the country, Christmas is a crucial time of year. This is so whether or not your business is inherently seasonal. For retailers of Christmas trees, there’s an obvious reason to emphasise the festive period. But even for more generalised businesses, there will be lulls in trade that need to be accounted for, and anticipated.
So, how can we do this effectively?
Start with last Christmas to plan this Christmas
To begin with, it’s worth looking back at what you were doing last year. What did your sales figures look like? Were there any quirks of the season that caught you off-guard? How were you able to cope with seasonal demand, and what was the picture like when it comes to cash flow, recruitment, and warehousing?
The more detailed the records you’ve kept, and the more experienced your staff, the better able you’ll be to anticipate the challenges ahead. This is a great argument for keeping a journal of your business activities, and encouraging members of the team to voice their concerns.
Get your festive marketing calendar in place early
An effective Christmas marketing campaign should allow everyone to make themselves aware of what’s coming, and to do so well ahead of time. You should set your budget and choose your channels, and have your strategy for content creation in place. You might start by picking out the important moments in your campaign, and how you intend to reach them. For example, you might look at particular events on the calendar, including the launch of any seasonal products you might be planning.
Plan staffing before the festive rush arrives
If you know that you’re going to need extra staff over the festive period, then it’s worth moving early. This will allow you to not only identify the workers who will make a worthwhile contribution, but to train them and onboard them so that they aren’t learning when you’re busy. Temporary workers retain virtually all of the rights and protections enjoyed by permanent workers, especially after they’ve been in the role for more than twelve weeks. Make sure that health and safety is prioritised.
Make delivery part of the customer experience
Businesses that are expecting a surge in online orders might think about the advantages of next-day courier services. Make sure that you and your customers are aware of the deadlines for postage, too – especially if you want to honour any returns policy before Christmas Day arrives.
For online businesses, logistics matter. There’s no point in offering your customers an amazing product if it doesn’t arrive at exactly the time and place that it’s expected. During the festive period, this is all the more crucial.
