How to prepare your business for the holidays

The holidays are fast approaching. Christmas decorations seem to go out earlier and earlier each year.  What do the holidays look like for your business? Is it a slower time of year? Is it the busiest time of year? Either way, there are steps you can take now to ensure the season is a successful one.

Join the Shop Local movement
If you’re a local company, toot your local horn! Find out if your neighborhood is planning anything special to encourage local shopping. Usually your local chamber of commerce will know what’s going on.  Maybe there are other businesses that it would make sense for you to partner with to support one another.
You can also join the Small Business Saturday campaign. Originally started as an American Express campaign to encourage shoppers to buy local during the holiday season, this day has fast become a tradition in many communities.

Staff Schedules
If you haven’t already, make sure you have all of your staff’s schedules set for the busy season. If people are taking time off, make sure their back up is lined up. Also, of you have different hours or planned to be closed for the holidays, make sure you communicate that to your customers plenty of time in advance.

Special promotions
This time of year, spending goes up, and so does looking for deals. If you have a special offer you can put out there, now is a great time to do so!

Whether you’re taking part in “Black Friday” or completely abstaining like REI is this year, there are ways to make this season work for you.

Stock Up
If you sell physical products, make sure you are stocked up so you won’t run out of any popular items!

Connect with your customers
This can be a card an email or even a phone call. The personal touches around the holidays are always appreciated.
This doesn’t even have to tie in to the holiday, but simply an end of the year, “Thanks for another successful year with us!” message can go along way and is a great opportunity to connect with your past and current customers.

Look Back to Look Forward
How was your 2015? What goals did you achieve this year and what are your goals next year? If you can share it, all the better! It would make a great newsletter, blog post or social share to wrap up the year.

Tell us, what does the holiday season look like for your business?
Tell us below!