As we head into the busiest part of the holiday season, businesses are looking to make sure that they're attracting as much business as they can. For many companies, this time of year creates the liquid assets that take them through the next several months.
Many companies consider this their busiest season, and for most retail locations, holiday planning for the next season starts as soon as the previous season is completed. While this is a great goal, it's not always feasible for smaller companies.
These strategies, however, should help you get through this holiday and plan for the next one.
Have Plenty of Customer Service Available
One of the worst parts of shopping during the holidays is trying to find a customer service representative. Whether you're in a store looking for help choosing just the right gift, or online hoping to clarify a question before making a purchase, a lack of customer service means that, more often than not, the customer will give up and shop with your competition instead.
If your customer service tends to be focused online, make sure that someone is monitoring your social media accounts, and responding quickly to issues as they arise. Time tends to get tight around the holidays, and making sure that questions are answered promptly will help your customers feel satisfied and return.
Make Sure Your Website Is Clean and Easy To Navigate
Whether your focus is online shopping or bringing people into your physical location, by making sure your website is clean, easy to navigate, responsive on mobile, and accessible to disability readers. This means that the majority of people who go to your website will be able to get the information they need from it.
They might purchase hundreds of dollars of goods or services, or they might just check your hours, but if they can't get what they need, they won't do either one.
Offer Great Deals And Make Them Obvious
Before the holidays, you should have planned out a few key promotions, and determined how you were going to advertise them to your customers. During the holidays themselves, it's time for you to make sure those promotions are visible and interesting to your customers.
77% of searchers prefer organic results over a paid listing in the Google search results. Furthermore, 67% select organic search when buying a product. Splash them through in-store signage, banners on your website, and newsletter blasts.
As a customer, it's very frustrating to find out after the fact that your favorite store had a great deal that you missed. By doing everything you can to let your customers know about deals when they're happening, you prevent them from being angry and frustrated down the road.
Have Plenty of Inventory
Shortages happen; predicting what will be popular is never as easy as it sounds on paper. That said, do your best to insure adequate levels of inventory for whatever products or services you carry. Be very clear with customers if you run out; don't say that you're going to have more of an item if you aren't 100% sure that you will.
A good action item before the holidays is to come up with a plan for what to do if a very popular item runs out. Are there channels you could use to find more? Would you create a waiting list for customers? Would you call them, email them, or not contact them at all, expecting them to come back into the store?
When you have a plan ahead of time, you prevent confusion amongst your service associates, and you ensure that customers get a consistent answer. You also don't have to scramble around a week before Christmas trying to figure out what you're going to do about a sudden shortage in a key item.
Use Social Media To Keep Your Customers Informed
If you have an unexpected closure due to weather, post it on your social media platforms. If your website is having issues and isn't functioning properly, let people know so that they're not angry or confused. Post updates on Twitter and Facebook. Consider offering discounts to customers who are inconvenienced during this time.
One of the biggest benefits of social media is the ability to react quickly and disseminate crucial information. By using social media to let your customers know what's going on in your store or your online shop, you increase their trust with you, and ensure that they'll be more willing to wait out whatever is happening.
For both online stores and brick and mortar locations, holiday shopping can be absolutely key to maintaining financial balance for the rest of the year. By cultivating the customers you already have, and supporting outreach to new customers, businesses can work to strengthen their market position and develop a business which can better serve its customers.