Three Quick Tips for Surviving Holiday Sales

The holidays are coming up faster than a greyhound on a wooden rabbit and if you aren't watchful, profits could sneak by you like the neighborhood tomcat during your afternoon nap. So how are you going to make the most of the shopping season? I've got three quick tips that you need to consider:

First - figure out your production schedule, and determine the last day you will allow customers to place orders that you are confident in delivering for Christmas. Give yourself a day or two buffer just in case you get over-run with business (a wonderful thought) and post that information in your store window, at the counter, on your Facebook page and/or whatever -just make sure that your customers know that date early.

Sure, you'll have some customers who won't take proper notice, they will try to get in late, and they will grouse about not knowing that there was a deadline. But let's face it: If a squirrel runs across your yard and you run smack to the end of your chain, it's harder to get mad at somebody else when they made an effort to tell you how long the chain was.

Second - Realize early that you WILL have customers who will fail to order on time, and there will also be customers who will ask you for things that don't fit your usual offerings. It's important to keep a selection of biscuits in your pocket, or more exactly - have a list ready of alternative ways to satisfy customers with unusual requests on short notice - Alternatives like transfers, sublimation, contract printers / embroiderers, and heat-applied lettering or vinyl can give you added capacity. Be sure you know your final order dates for your alternatives too.

Third - Your suppliers run specials on select items all the time. Why don't you run a special on those same items? There are probably a hundred different brands of kibble out there, and it's not always easy to pick the one you want. People are just the same this time of year, they are too busy trying to decide what to get for Aunt Helen to think clearly about shirts for five-hundred. If you give them an easy choice where you are confident your supply won't dry up, many of them will pick that, and others will be inspired to grab something else you offer because you floated the first scent past their noses.

Finally, remember that it's awfully easy to get caught up in commercializing the season and thinking of nothing but profits.  Don't spoil this for yourself or your customers by concentrating on the sale, instead think of all the ways you can help them satisfy their own needs. It's great to be the person who helps people get what they want. It's like being a warm puppy - sometimes you can just be yourself and make everybody happy.