‘Tis the Season

How to get your business retail-ready for the holiday season

BY CLAIRE SYKES

The 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 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

of your business.

Invite charitable organizations. Set up a table for community groups to collect financial and other donations from customers. Encourage your employees to participate by offering them one paid hour per week to help out.

HOSTING IN-STORE EVENTS

If you don’t do in-store events during the year, consider making an exception for the holidays. Chances are your competitors will take advantage of a festive promotion or two. From a simple draw or giveaway to an elegantly catered private sale, promotional events attract customers and boost sales. But make sure you:

Plan ahead. Spend time organizing to make sure everything is covered. You’ll need time to coordinate with vendors, and other retailers and community groups. Use social media, email, direct mail, your blog, newspapers, radio and television to get the word out well in advance.

Team up with other retailers. A florist, for example, could display red roses in crystal vases from your store or you could invite a bakery to contribute goodies. Collaborating with other businesses on promotions saves you money.

Include musicians. What are the holidays without a melody? Generate good cheer by inviting local singers or hire a string quartet. Do any of your employees play music? Maybe they’d like to perform solo or put a small group together.

Organize a joint charitable event. Invite a community group to be part of your promotional event. For example, you could co-host a combination holiday sale and pancake breakfast with a food bank. However you design your in-store holiday event, present a unique theme, but ensure it’s in line with the year-round character of your store.

OFFERING EXTRAS

The more you give your customers during the holiday season, the more likely they’ll shop at your store. Maximize fourth-quarter sales by taking a critical look at value-added features, services, bonuses and perks, to differentiate your store from the competition.

Special orders. You do your best to provide the products your customers want, but if you don’t carry or can’t get a certain line, customers will l ook elsewhere.

Gift wrap. It goes without saying that customers will appreciate the time you save them when you wrap their purchases in pretty paper and ribbon.

Store hours. Take note of your competitors’ hours, and match or exceed them. Consider keeping your doors open longer and opening on Sundays if you don’t already.

It`s never too early to plan for the holiday season, but you shouldn’t leave it to the last minute. You need to leave some wiggle room for the unexpected and undesirable, like shipping errors, dissatisfied customers, sick employees and financial hurdles.

Immediately after the holidays, review your results. How well did you do? What will you do differently next season?