It’s never too early to start preparing your small business for the holiday rush. In fact, most businesses start getting ready during the summer, if not earlier. It’s important to give yourself as much time as you need to prepare. Before the chaos descends, start thinking about how you can stay on top of your holiday finances, marketing campaigns, and social media strategies.
1. Stay on top of finances and tax season
Newsweek recommends starting your year-end tax preparations early in order to give yourself more options. Supply chains could make it difficult to offset profits with investments towards the end of the year, which is why you should get started sooner rather than later. Instead of spending extra money on more staff and campaigns, keep your budget tight and be careful with spending during the holidays.
For some businesses, the holidays might be a quieter time. In this case, use the extra time on your hands to wind down for the year and start preparing for the next quarter.
2. Boost employee morale
Don’t underestimate the power of employee morale. In fact, 65% of HR professionals identified improving employee morale and preventing burnout as a top priority in 2021 for the mental health and well-being of workers worldwide. Promoting work/life balance and encouraging employees to take time for their mental health go a long way in improving morale.
Now is also a great time to reevaluate perks, benefits, and rewards. Do your company benefit offerings support employee physical and mental health? Do your employees have the opportunity for continuous learning, such as conferences, training, and certificates? For more ways to improve morale, check out ways to support tech workers during Pride month.
3. Manage expectations by building flexibility into your strategy
The everyday challenges that your company encounters will only increase during the holiday rush. Manage your expectations by building flexibility into your business strategy, such as extra time or more hands on deck for big projects. Finance, HR, and team leaders need to prepare overtime budgets and the shuffling of employees and shifts. Identify potential hurdles and their solutions before the time comes.
You should also manage your stakeholders’ expectations. Customers need to be made aware of the volatility of pricing, availability, and delivery during the holidays. The best way to manage their expectations is to be transparent about potential delays or cancellations. The holidays are a great time for small businesses to reconnect with clients and show appreciation for their loyalty.
4. Map out your holiday marketing campaigns
One of the best ways to beat the holiday madness is to map out your marketing campaigns in advance. You might want to run ads earlier rather than later, especially if you’re selling in-demand products that will sell out fast.
Don’t forget about social media—think about how you can boost brand awareness and increase visibility during the holidays. What makes your small business stand out? If you already have a steady following, think about content that will pique your audience’s interest and gain traction on social media.
5. Invest in new technology
Before the holiday rush comes full swing, troubleshoot your internet connection and devices to catch issues before they occur. There’s nothing worse than encountering a glitch with your POS system during the busiest part of the year. Now is a great time to invest in tech tools for small businesses and test out new smart devices to level up your small business.
While you’re at it, make sure that your internet connection is secure. If your business needs a new internet provider, you’ll want to take care of the transfer now. How much internet speed does your small business need? This is something you should know now. As you add more employees and digital activities, you need more bandwidth. You can future-proof your internet by choosing business fiber internet, which has built-in bandwidth, speed, and reliability.
Internet that keeps your business future-ready
As your small business advances and requires more speed and bandwidth, improvements to fiber networks can help meet those needs. When you make the leap to fiber, you’re making a long-term investment in your internet capabilities for years to come. Whatever the future brings, you’ll be ready for it with internet that’s built for your small business. Learn more on the Quantum Fiber Explore blog.
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