Don't make the mistake of not being prepared to deal with a high volume of
shoppers this holiday. It doesn't matter if you've got a brick and mortar
business or run a virtual store, if you want to rake in a large chunk of
important profits attributed to Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber
Monday, you need a holiday sales plan. Even if this time of year isn't a high
sales cycle for your business, you should still offer some specials leading up
to the holidays. Here are some holiday sales tips for small businesses.
It's time to be thinking about how you will stock up to fill your holiday
orders. Preparation is key. You also want to place your orders early for Google
Adwords and Facebook ad campaigns, or decide if you plan to do any local radio
ads or an open house.
Line up sour seasonal help. Organize who you will hire for
seasonal help and your interns in advance. Develop step-by-step guides with
pictures so that your brand is not damaged by a temporary worker.
You can also enlist your family, neighbor kids, church members and friends to
help get you through the holidays.
Your inventory. Look at what your sales were last year to
determine what you need to have in place. Order your packaging, shipping and raw
materials in advance. Be sure to order extra too.
Talk to your vendors. Start communicating with your
manufacturer and distributor partners about your holiday plan. Make sure you
have a back-up for your main supplier in case they are backed up with other
orders. Manufacturers may hire temporary help too for the holidays, so if you
have a product that requires a high-level of detail, you may want to order
product early.
Prep your packaging in advance. If you are a business that
really gives your customers a great presentation with the packaging, get it
ready before the orders start coming. You want to protect your brand so your
quality does not suffer in the holiday rush.
Research your shipping options. Know when you need to have
your items ready to ship so they arrive before Christmas. Figure out your best
shipping options. If you belong to a trade organization or association, you may
qualify for a discount with express shippers. You can also set up a USPS
click-and-ship account so that they will pick up orders from your home or
office.
Contact your merchant account provider. If you are going to
focus on sales over the holidays, you need to make sure that your credit card
processor provides a daily limit high enough to process all of the transactions.
You might just be fortunate enough to have your product featured in the media
which will generate huge sales, and could shut down your shopping cart.
Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday marketing
strategy. These are the days when your customers will most likely be
out or online, looking for only the best deals. Know in advance what inventory
you want to move. Then, offer amazing bundles or exciting new products just for
those shoppers.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
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