For some of you, the end of 2022 has rolled around very quickly, with a busy year of bring your business back into full-swing! For some, Christmas is an even busier time of year and for others it’s the light at the end of the tunnel with some time to relax with friends and family. No matter what Christmas brings your business, now is the perfect time to get things ready so that you can enjoy the festive season.
Below is a checklist that may guide you in your pre-Christmas preparations for your business:
1. Update your trading hours over Christmas
Businesses traditionally change their business trading hours over Christmas. For example, you may extend your trading hours for the week leading up to Christmas day to give your customers more opportunity to shop with you. Or your business may close on the Christmas, Boxing Day and New Years Day public holidays.
If your trading hours change, don’t assume that your customers will know what they will be. Be sure to update your trading hours where your customers will search for information about your business. This includes your website, your social media and your google business profile. You may also take the initiative to post about your Christmas trading hours on social media or send an email to your subscriber list.
2. Christmas orders and delivery cut off dates
Now is a good time to plan ahead for when you will need to receive Christmas orders from you customers and when Christmas deliveries will need to cease. Communicating your cut off dates gives your customers clear expectations and helps your staff manage orders and customer enquiries at this very busy time of year.
3. Get festive on your socials!
If you regularly plan your social media posts ahead of time, make sure you get your festive messages out there for your followers to enjoy. This is a great chance to get creative with your brand. Of course if you need help, Martlette is very happy to help you with the design of some social media artwork for your posts.
This is a great opportunity to promote any special Christmas offers or products to your audience and invite them to comment and share with their friends.
4. Create a gift guide
Perhaps you have a few services or products available over Christmas that would make great gifts? One of the most googled phrases this time of year is “Christmas Gift Ideas” so now is a great time to give people ideas of what your business can offer them. A ‘gift guide’ is a great addition to your website blog/news page and can be linked from a social media post for added exposure.
5. Show your gratitude
Christmas is the perfect time of year to say thank you and show others how much you appreciate them. Consider sending a hand written card, a gift or personalised offer to your clients, suppliers or to your charity partners. Personally, I love a handwritten card in the mail box, however many businesses prefer to minimise waste by sending Christmas wishes via email. I am always pleasantly surprised at how many replies I receive after sending my Christmas emails out to my clients and suppliers each year.
If your business needs some graphic design assistance, in the lead up to Christmas, get in touch to find out how I can help.