The Christmas season is officially here, which means that if you’re a retail business owner, your year is getting busier than ever. Depending on what type of retail you’re in, you might be in the midst of the Christmas rush, or you might be preparing for the Boxing day and New Years rush. You might even need to do both.
This time of year presents retail businesses with an incredible opportunity to make a great profit and bring in huge numbers of customers, but only if you prepare yourself, and get your resourcing right.
- Ensure you have enough staff
Even if you run with a smaller team throughout the year, now might be the time to reconsider this strategy and bring in casual staff if need be. If you have existing part-time or casual team members, now is also the time to have a chat with them to see if they are open to taking on more hours during this period.
- Take note of your stock levels
Different products often sell differently during the Christmas period, and you might be able to pull from data from previous years to get a sense of what these products will be. You will likely need to increase your stock levels across the board coming into this period to ensure that you have all the stock you need to meet the needs of your customers.
- Ensure your cleaning processes are consistent
Things are about to get busy, but that doesn’t mean you want the tidiness of your store to suffer as a result of this. Make sure your staff are all trained on the standards that your store needs to be at, and any processes that need to happen to meet this standard.
- Establish great customer service practices
It can be easy for customer service staff to get overwhelmed during the holiday season and let service standards slip in the frenzy. Now is the time to establish or reestablish your customer service practices, and make sure your team are all on the same page about expectations and protocols.
- Take on additional marketing
If you have the perfect Christmas gifts, or you’re running a fantastic Boxing Day sale, people should have the opportunity to know about that. There are many great local marketing options like flyer drops, email marketing campaigns, and targeted social media ads.
- Ensure that your accounting processes are solid
You simply cannot go into the busy holiday period without a slick accounting and reporting process. You might be able to get away with it in the short term, but you’ll only be creating a massive headache for yourself when tax time rolls around.
If you are looking for a reliable Brisbane business accountant or business advisors Brisbane, the team at MSI Taylor can help.
Our team understands that current, reliable accounts are critical to running a successful business. In order to manage your cash flow over the busy period and to be prepared for the December BAS reporting period, make sure you have planned properly. We offer a range of services to help shore up your accounting processes this holiday season.
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