5 Tips to Jump Start Holiday Planning

Posted at 3:35PM • 8/05/19 • Liz Sagaser

“The #1 cause of chaos is getting a late start.”

— Jamie Turner, CEO of 60 Second Marketer

Many marketing and sales experts recommend starting your holiday sales planning in July. With the challenges this year has thrown at us so far, you may not have started on your 2020 holiday planning yet. Not to worry...there’s no time like the present to plan ahead for sales success for the lucrative November-December retail season.

5 Holiday Planning Tips for Retail Success

CUSTOMERS

Build your email list and social media following now. The more customers on your list now, the more customers you can promote sales + events to in November and December. Sign customers up for store email at the register, print your Facebook link on receipts and invite customers to follow you, and set out an email sign-up sheet at every store event.

ADVERTISING

Book holiday ads now for better pricing. If you participate in traditional advertising (local radio, television, or print), ask what discounts are available for pre-booking, and explore holiday package deals with multimedia companies who handle tv/radio/print together. Advocate for the best time slots and print spacing available.

MARKETING

Develop a cohesive plan including email, social media, sales promotions, and events.Don’t wait until traffic increases and you’re too busy to write excellent emails or plan amazing social media posts. Write content now that you can easily pull out and send in November and December, and add sales promos and holiday events to your calendar now.

INVENTORY

Plan ahead for inventory needs so you have product on hand during your busiest season. Consider top sellers in apparel, and also easy giftables like jewelry and drinkware. Stock up on easy add-ons near the register to increase sales on impulse purchases. Talk to your Kerusso rep about what’s selling where you live.

GIFT CARDS

Think outside the box on this one. Offer gift card specials leading up to Christmas that include a #bonus gift card for the buyer to use on a future purchase. For example, give a bonus $5 gift card valid in January with every $25 gift card purchased. Shoppers will have a gift to give in December, and a reason to return to your store in January.

“Better ever than never.”

— Old Croatian Proverb

If you haven’t done a thing to sort out your holiday sales plan yet, it’s not too late to get a jump start on a successful end to 2019.

Spend 15 minutes today tackling one of the topics covered here, and schedule 15 minutes a day for the next week or two continuing to chip away at the list. Before you know it, you’ll have a complete plan ready to roll out for Christmas sales success. #JustGetStarted

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If you’re keen on rounding out your inventory for the upcoming holiday season, then trade shows are a great way to get it done! Members of Team Kerusso are coming to a trade show near you. Find out where we’ll be next atKerusso.com/events >>