- Home
- Archive: November, 2023
3 Tips For Keeping Your Business Afloat During The Busy Christmas Season
The Christmas season is bursting with packed orders, and increased sales. It’s one of the most exciting periods of the year in terms of profits. However, during this period of heightened sales also often comes significant amounts of stress. Successfully managing it all while also keeping up with customer service and navigating the challenges that come along with running a business can be nothing short of a juggling act.
All it takes is one thing going wrong, and you could find yourself experiencing costly downtime and lost sales. To help you survive the Christmas season, and make the most out of the rush instead of letting it knock you down, here are some of the best tips for staying afloat during the busy holiday period.
Stay on Top of Inventory
Inventory management is critical, yet, it’s even more critical during high sales times. It’s important that you anticipate which products you’re likely to sell more of during the holiday season and stock accordingly. Although traditional inventory methods are still effective, manual inventory management is becoming more and more of the past.
You can save a significant amount of time by relying on automated inventory management systems. Instead of paying your employees to count inventory one by one, you can rely on technology to do it for you, so your employees can focus on customer service and developing new ideas.
Expand Your Online Presence
If you don’t have an online storefront yet, then now is the time. There are people all over the world looking to buy, so selling worldwide is a great way to increase your customer base. Create an online store, whether by using an already established platform like Shopify, or create one of your own.
In addition to your store, you should also make sure that you’re present in places like Facebook and Instagram, and promote any special holiday deals as much as possible. Optimizing your online presence won’t just increase your sales, but it will also streamline your checkout process.
Focus on Customer Service
With an increase in sales also comes an increase in customer concerns and questions. So it’s important that your customer service team is on top of things, with quick and efficient responses to effectively manage your customer’s expectations.
Make sure that your sales team is well trained on how to handle the most common customer concerns, and consider offering 24 hour chat support. That way, your customers can get help with automated answers for simple questions and concerns any time of day without having to pay an employee.
Remember, Christmas time is your opportunity to show whether you’ve got the chops or not. Give it your best, and your customers will remain loyal and continue to recommend you to their friends and family.
3 Tips for Marketing Your Massage Business
Starting a business that provides wellness and relaxation can be incredibly lucrative. This is because regardless of what year it is, or what kind of economic climate we’re in, people will always have sore muscles and stress they rely on massage to heal. And while word of mouth alone may have once been an acceptable way to find massage clients, nowadays, it’s an incredibly competitive market, and as such you’ll need to expand your marketing methods.
If you’re in the process of trying to get your massage business off the ground, here are some of the best tips for marketing yourself.
Establish an Online Presence
Nowadays, one of the first places people turn to when they’re looking for anything from a club sandwich to a massage is Google. That’s why you want to make sure that your business is at the top of search results when people are looking for what it is that you’re selling.
From adding your business to Google, to creating a page on Facebook, make sure that you’re as visible as possible. Because the more visibility you’ll have, the more potential customers you’ll have— not to mention you’ll increase your credibility. In today’s digital age, the more followers you have, the more you look like a legitimate business.
The way that you generate followers is by posting attractive, relevant, and shareable content that will naturally attract people to your page and keep them coming back for more. Remember, building a following is something that will take a consistent effort over time. It’s not something that happens overnight, so be patient with the process and stay diligent!
Start a Referral Program
One of the most powerful forms of marketing is referrals. Encourage your existing clients who are happy with their service to refer their friends and family by offering an incentive. This could be anything from add-ons to discounted sessions.
The idea is to keep your clients motivated to continue spreading the news about you. The great thing about referrals is that they are a win-win. They encourage new customers to purchase from you, while also strengthening your relationships with existing ones. And any successful business knows the importance of prioritizing both current and future clients— not just one or the other.
Offer Deals
People love a great deal! This is why websites like Groupon are so wildly successful, and businesses depend on them to bring in a new wave of clients. Offering a special promotion or discounted rate to first-time clients is a great way to get started.
Unlike other products and services, massage is something that encourages people to come back. It’s not something like a refrigerator that you buy once every 10 years— massage is a pleasant wellness service that encourages client loyalty and returning customers if you can manage to get it right.