PART 2
‘Tis The Season
to be Successful How to get your business retail-ready for the holiday season BY CLAIRE SYKES
T
he risks associated with having a ho-hum holiday season are so high that you can`t afford to do anything other than go all out. Your budget, advertising and merchandise for the upcoming fourth quarter should be in place and ready to go (refer to ‘Tis the Season Part 1, Summer 2021). Now comes the fun part - ensuring your customers have a fantastic in-store experience by preparing employees, displays, events and customer service initiatives.
PREPARING EMPLOYEES
Staff members are your most important resources during the busy holiday season, so make sure you have the right number of employees in place, and that they do the best job possible. Hire extra help. Don’t wait until the last minute. Hiring closer to the holidays may save you money in payroll, but it will jeopardize sales at the till. Have extra staff on hand weeks before the craziness begins to handle the extra incoming merchandise and to prepare for special promotions and events. Take time to train. Make sure your salespeople know what they’re selling and how to promote it. Regularly inform them of incoming products and 46
inStore. Fall 2021
share tips on how to make successful sales. Keep them abreast of in-store promotional events, advertising and direct-mail programs. Take time to party. Instead of one big party, hold two smaller events — one before the holidays to kick off the festivities of the selling season and one in the New Year to celebrate your successes and reward staff for a job well done.
DECKING THE STORE
Put staff and customers in the holiday mood and inspire successful sales with a beautifully decorated store. Express the diversity of the holiday season. Some of your customers may not celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah, so reserve some display space to play on the idea of winter instead with snowflakes and icicles in a blue and white palette. Hire decorators. Find out who has a knack for designing and painting store windows, and save yourself the money, time and energy by hiring them to complete these tasks if you don’t have a competent staff member on hand. Involve children. Set up a small table with construction paper, scissors, glue and crayons where children can create decorations while mom and dad are shopping. Hang their works of art to
get your other customers in the holiday spirit and communicate a sense of community. Remember your reps. They may be able to provide you with free holiday decorations and sales aids. Order early to assure availability and the best selection. Dress up. Decorations needn’t be limited to your walls and windows. Encourage your staff to don festive hats, custom-designed t-shirts or buttons (with your logo, of course).
PARTNERING WITH CHARITIES
The holidays bring out the generosity in nearly everyone. When you contribute, you feel good about yourself as a business owner in the community and you also send a positive message about your store to others. Here are s ome ideas: Serve as a drop-off centre. Place large, decorative and well-marked boxes by the door or sales counter for customers to donate gifts and canned goods. Donate part of your sales. Contribute a certain percentage of your sales to a particular cause – and let customers know. An affiliation with a charity encourages purchases by customers who feel good when they give and adds to the overall favourable esteem and reputation inSpire. inForm. inStore.
