Nov 1-7
STAFF Humans are cyclical creatures, not robots. Plan work flows to keep staff fresh, healthy and motivated over the holiday period. That can include hiring extra help if needed, incorporating down time, and devising sales games, as well as springing for some occasional treats.
CIVIC DUTY Go vote. Be sure your employees will have time to go, too.
RETURNS Take a tip from Mark Snyder, owner of Snyder Jewelers in Weymouth, MA, and extend your normal return policy for holiday purchases to Jan. 30, so early shoppers don’t need to worry about buying a gift that can’t be exchanged.
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Nov 8-14
INVENTORY Call around to well-connected vendors to find out what they think will be hot this year in terms of holiday season trends.
OPERATIONS Update your local pages on Google, Facebook and elsewhere to ensure they reflect any changed store hours or other special services over the holiday season. Add terms such as “holiday hours” and “holiday sales” to your meta descriptions to give your web pages a better chance of ranking above those of the competition.
DISPLAY Identify old stock you wish to clear and give your sales team a sense of ownership by brainstorming new ways to redisplay your merchandise and organize your shelves. Can you add a different chain? Attach a fresh ticket? Review your results and strategies every day.
OFFICE Does your office’s phone system offer two-way texting capabilities? If not, investigate some options. It’s the way many people prefer to communicate these days.
Nov 15-21
ONLINE Shane O’Neill, VP of Fruchtman Marketing, suggests curating a selection of holiday gifts to populate your website. “Focus on products under $500 and push those hard on your social channels. Allow for purchase on your website.”
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MERCHANDISING Create and lay out your first holiday display window. If you’re not sure it’s right, leave the elements in the back room for a couple of days and then decide.
MARKETING ’Tis the season … to cross-promote. Have a store nearby that offers a compatible product — fashion, silverware, accessories — drop your store’s coupon into each customer’s shopping bag. (And do the same for them.)
MARKETING Not looking forward to writing and mailing hundreds of Christmas cards, but still want to send something personal? A service like SendOutCards.com might be the answer. You simply log on, choose a card, write your message and hit send. SendOutCards prints it, stuffs it and mails it, all for less than a greeting card at the store.
Nov 22-28
SECURITY Call a meeting to go over security procedures and reinforce basics like keeping showcases locked, showing one item at a time, not turning your back when customers are holding product, or letting customers roam unwatched in the store.
MARKETING Send gift certificates to the top 5-10 percent of your customers from the past few years. Include a handwritten personal note.
