Before we know it, Thanksgiving will be here, soon followed by Christmas and New Years. This time of year can be busy and overwhelming, but these tips should help you prepare your marketing and technology:

• Start early & schedule: Things will get chaotic, so start getting ready now. You can even schedule social media posts ahead of time.
• Look at your reports & prepare accordingly: How much of your products do you sell each week? What time of day is busiest? Look at your reports so you know how much extra inventory to stock and when to schedule staff.
• Make sure technology is ready: If you plan on adding new items or holding sales, be sure to add them to your POS system. Also, don’t forget to update your social media and website with any special hours, and make sure to train staff on any changes. This is a great time to update software to newer versions if needed, too.
• Get creative: You could have some of your best sales days during the holidays! Do your research to see what people would be interested in buying. Plan giveaways and sales, add new items and create special gift boxes or baskets, and consider shipping products to customers. Don’t forget to tell your audience online what you’re doing!
• Get your staff involved: Don’t only focus on the customers—happy staff will treat customers well. Dress up, decorate, or have a party! Also encourage your staff to share your posts online.
• Keep on top of your office work: During the busyness of holiday prep, it can be easy to forget about your accounting, billing, and payroll. Make time each week to take care of this.
• Collect data: You will most likely have a lot of people shopping with you, including many new faces, so get to know your customers. Ask them questions in person, like where they come from and how they head about you, and collect information online, too, by using your website and social media insights. Use this data to make decisions later.

We discussed this topic at our Tech Talk on Friday, November 15, at the Venango Chamber. More details coming soon on our next Tech Talk. We wish you the best of luck during the holidays!

This article was published in the Venango Chamber’s November 2019 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.