Technology Tip
Dave Pelland has extensive experience covering the business use of technology, networking and communications tools by companies of all sizes. Dave's editorial and corporate experience includes more than 10 years editing an electronic technology and communications industry newsletter for a global professional services firm.

Preparing Your Small Business for Holiday Season Sales

Preparing Your Small Business for Holiday Season Sales

For many small businesses, especially retailers that depend on local customers, the year-end holiday season can be the most important part of the year for generating sales and profit. Add with up to 40 percent of consumers starting their holiday shopping by Halloween, it’s never too early to start preparing your business to take advantage of the holiday season sales rush.

There are a lot of potential actions you can take to plan for holiday sales and it’s considerably easier to start taking steps and testing your systems during the summer and early fall without the time crunch you’ll likely experience as November rolls around.

Getting Ready

An important step in preparing for the holiday season is identifying your sales goals and the most popular products or services your customers will want. This is the time to review previous holiday periods to get a sense of which products sold the most, and to think about the promotions and content you’ll use to attract new and current customers.

Another important key will be examining and updating your company’s website, particularly if your online sales comprise a portion of your revenue and sales plans. Take a fresh look at the site, particularly your product images and descriptions, to make sure they are as attractive as possible.

You should also take another look at your shipping rates to see if they reflect any increases or holiday season surcharges from your shipping partners.

Other important aspects to consider is how fast your site loads, and how it looks on mobile devices. Test the search function and checkout process to ensure they are working effectively, and make sure any promotional codes reflect the proper discounts.

After checking your online store, take a fresh look at your physical location to see if there are any maintenance or cleaning projects you should take care of before the holiday season. A fresh coat of paint or new lights, for instance, can brighten a space and provide a more attractive shopping experience.

Online Marketing

Another important area to examine before the holiday season is your email marketing efforts. The customers and prospects on your list will want to hear about upcoming promotions, new products and services, in-store events, shipping deadlines and other important information.

You should also take a look at your local online directory listings, such as Google Maps, your Facebook page, your Yelp profile, and other sites and platforms. Make sure your store hours and contact information are up to date.

The pre-holiday period is also a great time to plan and produce the content you will publish during the holiday season. This may include, for instance, how-to videos, gift guides, product reviews, comparison charts, and other information you’ll want to share. You may want to, for example, set up a temporary holiday display and shoot a video that you’ll post during the holidays.

The summer months may also be a good time to review your working capital, and to arrange lines of credit or other funds you may need to obtain extra inventory or to budget for increased staffing during the holiday season.

All of these will be easier ahead of time and will give your small business the time and flexibility it needs to take full advantage of the all-important year-end holiday shopping season.


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