With Christmas just around the corner you’re no doubt busy rushing round sourcing new stock, refining product lines and preparing special promotions for what is set to be the busiest quarter of 2012, Christmas!
By Chris Reeves, eBay Design Company Frooition
In efforts to help you make the most of this busy period we’ve created ‘Your Business Christmas List’, a fantastic list of suggestions and everything you need to consider in order to maximise your Christmas Sales!
Prepare Your Mindset – Christmas starts in October!
Some say ‘start your Christmas promotions in September’, others ‘October’ and some even ‘after Halloween’. The truth? It depends; it depends on your product range, industry type and marketing skill, if you’re unsure play safe and start your Christmas promotions mid-late October (unless your product sales are positively influenced by Halloween).
An early Christmas campaign may gain a few quick sales but if timed badly can easily turn off prospective clients from your brand which means less engagement and fewer sales.
Month: October
Prepare Yourself
You’re about to enter the busiest period of the year, the key? Preparation. If you’re mentally and physically prepared you can ensure a stress free and proactive environment to facilitate maximum sales and enjoyment!
Just think, in January next year you could be in Barbados Sipping a Pina Colada reflecting on a job well done!
Time to calculate!
The first job is to run a few simple calculations, by spending a little time running through your sums you can identify your current daily output and plan accordingly to meet client expectations. Consider the following:
- How many customer orders can you typically handle in a day?
- How many typical buyer-to-sales questions do you receive a day? How long does it take to answer these questions? What’s the average time it takes to answer a buyer’s questions?
- Is there a particular product that sells more than the rest? Is this hot stock located near your packers? How long would this stock last? How long does replacement stock take to arrive if ordered today?
These answers define your daily capacity and give you the ability to plan ahead for peak trading periods.
If you know how many orders it takes to reach maximum capacity you can prepare for peak trading periods to preserve those all important DSR’s and better meet buyer expectations.
“Time is currency, spend it well!”
Procedures! Procedures! Procedures!
No doubt you follow a strict routine to complete your daily jobs; if you were to write down your daily procedure as a checklist you will not only have a prompt to guide you through manic days but the opportunity to review what you do and when in order make improvements.
“A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow”.
What about your team?
Don’t be afraid to ask your team what they think, they’ll likely have lots of ideas on how to help things run smoother and quicker for them.
“Improved working efficiency saves time, and saves you money.”
Prepare your Christmas Lines
Ensure you know what products you will be selling during the Christmas period, this doesn’t just include your core lines but also Christmas specific lines. Once you know your products for the next quarter you can prepare your promotional calendar to drive sales!
- Do you know what products you will be selling during your Christmas period?
- Are you introducing specific Christmas product lines?
Prepare your promotional calendar
Marketing makes sales, and sales keep your doors open.
Make a promotional calendar to keep you marketing in check. A promotional calendar in its simplest form is a date calendar with prompt reminders as to what you need to do, when you need to do it and how you’re going to do it.
It doesn’t need to be complicated, simply mark on the date you wish to send the campaign what it is you will be doing, what you aim to achieve by doing it and how you will do it.
For example:
28th October 2012 – Email Campaign to Customer Database – Primary Aim: Drive Christmas Sales Traffic to the website – Christmas special offer including 9 special deals – Subject “Christmas Store Now Open”
Prepare Your Suppliers
These guys literally hold your business up; without stock you can’t make sales and if you don’t keep up to date with your suppliers movements you can easily end up short. Keep up to date with your suppliers’ current events in order to maximise on situations as they arise.
“if you end up in a tight spot you may be able to call on a special favour!”
Consider:
- Sharing your promotional calendar with your supplier
Not only will this strengthen your relationship with your supplier but they may provide some invaluable advice to enhance your campaign or even alert you of high risk periods where they may have low stock.
You’re important! – Remind them
Make sure your suppliers understand you’re a serious seller whose business needs and requirements are important to them.
“the more they recognise your business the more support you’ll gain”
Meet your suppliers and build a personal relationship
If you meet your suppliers face to face you’ll acquire a personal presence over other buyers, this can prove invaluable during a tight spot.
“It’s only when you meet someone that you truly appreciate who they are”
Ensure you know who your account manager is over the next quarter.
The more you know about your supplier movements the more you can plan for a successful promotional calendar, do you know who to speak with and who will get the job done should your account manager be on holiday in the next few months?
Is your account manager on holiday at any point over the next 3 months? When are they away and who will be covering them? Do they understand your business expectations?
Click here for part two of Your Business Christmas List
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