Attention new business owners: are you ready for the 4th quarter rush?
We've survived the Christmas surge for nearly 20 years, and we want you to do the same! If this is your first time your business is going through the 4th quarter (or if you just want to improve on last year's sales) we have a few tips for making it less scary and more profitable.
- Don't wait till the last minute. Fourth quarter seems to defy space and time and will sneak up on you out of nowhere, but if you prepare yourself in advance it won't get the chance to knock you over. Any special holiday considerations—such as hiring seasonal help, opening extra registers or setting up special displays—should be done before you actually need them. And if you're trying something new it's better to work out the kinks in advance of the rush.
- Are you a brick-and-mortar store? Create a holiday floor plan. Non-seasonal items can go near the back, while holiday gifts (as well as your impulse items and other fast-movers) can be more front-and-center.
- Have a window display? Change it up! This will grab the eye of new customers as well as regulars who may be so used to your current display that they don't even notice it any more.
- No stock? No sales! We see it every year—a customer or two calls us up in a panic because they ran out of item X and Christmas is 5 days away! Do yourself, your employees and your customers a favor by getting ahead of sales and filling up your inventory early, or at least reordering before an item entirely runs out. We always try to accommodate last-minute requests as best we can (and we understand that even the most prepared may be caught off guard by an item's unexpected popularity) but the volume of orders received at this time of year may cause processing delays for everyone.
- Set holiday prices and sales. 'Tis the season to shop, shop shop, and savvy consumers are already gathering gifts. Raise retail prices on your best-selling items (we recommend around 3-5%) and put your worst-sellers on sale to thin out the inventory and make room for holiday items. Be sure to draw attention to these sale items with eye-catching signs and displays.
- Set a shipping deadline and let your customers know it well in advance. For those that ship out products communication with the customer is key—panicked calls about items not arriving in time for Christmas is a headache neither party wants to deal with. Let them know when they need to order by—put it on signs, invoices, your website, social media and on any mail-outs. Check with the post office (or UPS or any other shipping service you use) to determine a reasonable deadline.
- Remind your customers to shop with you this year. Set special discounts or coupons to attract first-time customers and reward returning shoppers, and make sure they know about these specials.
- Iron out any technical difficulties. If you have a website do you know for sure that it handle holiday traffic? Do you know who to contact if something breaks down? What's your backup plan?
- Prepare your employees. Any concerns about inventory organization, order processing (if you ship items out) and bookkeeping should be addressed now. Can any of your process be automated? Reduce human error with specialized software for inventory and sales tracking and organizing just about every aspect of your business. (If you're small enough you may find that the software is cheaper, and possibly even free.) New software programs usually come with a learning curve, so giving your employees a chance to familiarize themselves with the new system will prevent missteps at the worst possible times.
The 4th quarter rush can feel overwhelming—especially to new-timers—but with the right mindset and plenty of common-sense prep you, too, can conquer this exciting (and profitable!) time of year.
