Whether you’re ready for it or not, the holidays are fast approaching. Some retail stores had their trees and holiday bows out before Halloween. That can grate on some people’s nerves—but can you blame them? It’s their most profitable time of year, and a lot of shoppers start on their lists that early!
The downside to all of these profits and perfect gifts? Stress. This time of year can get very stressful, very quickly for both the shopper and the business. Make sure you’re helping your customers, not hurting them, during this busy season. That means making sure your address is correct online, as well as your regular and holiday hours. It also means making sure your business is well-staffed for all the in-store traffic you’ll get. Strategic planning in all areas of your business can save your customers extra headaches this season.
So how can you work with your marketing company or department to make sure you’re ready?
What You Can Do
You, as the local business owner, should be ready for the season with a few essential things. You need to have a thorough knowledge of your customers and your target market. Your staff should be sufficient for your expected traffic, and well-trained—there’s nothing so detrimental as poor service after you’ve waited in line for two hours. Make sure there is plenty of signage explaining your regular and holiday hours, and support availability for any complaints you might get. You’ll need content to market, of course, as well as a commitment to ongoing local listing and social engagement during the season—now is not the time to shirk those duties!
What Your Marketing People Can Do
Your agency or department’s job is to create your online picture. They’ll need to be ready with accurate, thorough, and persuasive local business listings. They should come with unique marketing ideas to set you apart from the competition. Your marketing people, whoever they are, should be committed to ongoing local listing and social engagement during the season too. They should publish your holiday content on time and in the right places. They should also provide thorough analytics and post-holiday analysis.
What Your Customer Will Get
Your shoppers should leave feeling relieved, not more stressed. You have three main goals for the holiday season:
- Give them a great online experience
- Give them a great offline experience
- Give them an overall experience good enough to warrant a review and a return
Fostering growth in your business and connection with your customers takes a lot of time and effort all year long—and even more during the holiday season. We can help, though. Give us a call.
