Holiday Success Tips and Tricks: Part 1The holidays are approaching fast and Los Alamos Business Assistance Services is here with some great Holiday Success Tips and Tricks for your business.
Did you know that 39 percent of consumers start shopping before Halloween? Don’t fear if you haven’t started planning for the holiday season yet because 40 percent of consumers shop in November and 21 percent in December. There is still plenty of time to create a holiday planning guide for your business.
The holidays are the busiest time of the year, not only for retailers and e-commerce sites but restaurants, hotels, salons, accountants and lawyers, too. The holiday season can be where a business makes half of its annual sales. So, it is time to review your HOLIDAY PLANNING GOALS.
Our suggestion is to focus on how are you going to get customers, choosing the right products and services to promote, being smart about money and creating a people plan.
A great tool is to create a Holiday Planning calendar.
The important dates to remember:
- Nov. 26 – The day before Hanukkah (Nov. 27-Dec.5)
- Nov. 28 – Thanksgiving
- Nov. 29 – Black Friday
- Dec. 2 – Cyber Monday
- Dec. 24 – Christmas Eve Day
- Dec. 25 – Christmas
- Dec. 26 – The first day of Kwanzaa (Dec. 26-Jan. 1)
- Dec. 31 – New Year’s Eve
Some other important things to put on your calendar are:
- Days of extended holiday hours
- Date to send out holiday cards and gifts
- Last day to order inventory
- Due dates of bills
- Last day to ship ground to arrive for Christmas
- Last day to ship overnight to arrive for Christmas
- First day to accept returns
- Date for giving out end of year bonuses
- Your company holiday party
- Any other marketing campaigns
- Any other important dates for your business
This year there are 26 shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. You’ll want to make sure your business works to maximize the holiday sales potential of each day. Be sure to tune in every day over the next week for more Holiday Success Tips.
Los Alamos Business Assistance Services helps businesses with planning, marketing, financing, startups, training, and other specialized areas so businesses can start, grow and succeed in northern New Mexico. Visit our website www.losalamosbusiness.com for a no-cost, confidential appointment.
Source: Holiday Success Guide. Abrams Rhonda. The Planning Shop, 2012.
