Christmas time can be the busiest time of the year for some retail businesses. The run-up to the actual festivities is often frantic for both customers and retailers as late choices are made and purchases hurriedly gathered together. It just makes perfect sense for businesses to be geared up for this spike in traffic well ahead of the season so that, in the end, we can all be jolly!
It might be a good idea to invest a little yourself before it all starts. It’s never a bad idea to let people know that you are thinking of them at this time of year so a Christmas card greeting and maybe even a small token gift for your best customers wouldn’t go amiss. It doesn’t have to be a card through the mail of course – you can give them your best wishes via electronic means using a cheerfully worded email or seeking out one of the e-greetings sites and sending them your thoughts supplemented with some amusing “Ho ho ho” animated graphics and music. You can be sure that they will appreciate the thought.
Be Social
With so much competition in business you really have to try to be the stand-out performer in your field and clever marketing is going to help you along there. You’ve got to stay ahead of the temporary new names that spring up at Christmas, letting everyone know that you’ve been around a long time and, more importantly, you’re going to stick around well into the New Year. Make use of social media outlets like Facebook and Pinterest to get your name out there. You can be sure that a little time spent in these areas can give you great returns with virtually no impact on your marketing budget.
If you have the time get out there yourself – try to go to as many Christmas functions and business fairs as you can manage (with a pocketful of business cards of course!). A spot of networking with a glass of wine in your hand can reap some rich rewards in both the short and long term. Naturally you have to work the crowds carefully, being sure to register information on people you meet and also letting them know who you are and what you can do for them. This kind of thing makes good commercial sense as well as being a bit of fun and, of course, it’s good to get out and swap ideas with business colleagues and old friends.
One final tip – don’t shut the business down completely. Set up automated responses on your phone and email so that customers know you are not far away. You can take some well-deserved time out but you can’t leave the shop completely empty for a few days. If you can be sure that customers old and new don’t slip through the cracks a prosperous New Year should be on the cards following the holidays.
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