Tips To Get Your Business Ready For Seasonal Sales
November is the most profitable month for most businesses. There is a surge in demand for products during Diwali and other special occasions. Buyers are motivated to go for big purchases, and this allows the businesses to start attractive offers and sales. These types of sales are called seasonal sales.
Seasonal sales are very fascinating for customers. They usually plan various purchases during festive seasons like Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Christmas, etc.; there are chances of increased demand; hence, every business must prepare for seasonal sales.
The following tips could be considered:
1. Start Early
It is important to start early so that you can achieve your seasonal sales target. It is also important to keep yourself updated with the current market situation and consumer preferences. Finally, to start early you need to plan early.
2. Promotion Strategy
As you know that all seasonal businesses will make efforts to promote their products so you must think and plan your promotional strategy as well. Highlight your unique selling proposition (USP). Moreover, focus on any new seasonal product or feature that your customers may be interested in; for example, a new product line or a promotional offer.
3. Online Marketing
We are in the digital era and if you don’t market your product online, you will be left behind. Make sure that your marketing efforts reach your target audience so that you get the best ROI for your marketing spend, thereby making your business grow faster.
4. Study Seasonal Trend
Look at previous years' data and trends to forecast your current year's sales and the percentage of growth to expect. Although this might not be 100% accurate, it will give you a fair idea of sales so that you can produce and prepare accordingly.
5. Offer Pre-order Options
Allow your customers to book orders in advance, and you can even offer them some early booking discounts or early bird prizes before seasonal sales. This will help you produce in advance and complete your orders on time.
6. Exchange and Returns
Plan and prepare for exchanges and returns as it’s a norm for seasonal business. Formulate a good policy and make necessary arrangements for exchange and returns to create a good customer experience so that you have repeat customers year on year. During this process, of course, the seller tries to sell more units. Modify your returns and exchanges policy for the seasonal sales period if required. Moreover, decide on holding space for any returned goods for them to be examined before resale.
7. Plan Beforehand
Last-minute preparations should be avoided. You should start planning a bit earlier to be ready for the upcoming seasonal sales periods. Your plans should include human resources, time, promotion, and the budget needed in that special period.
8. Minimum Order Value
Set a minimum benchmark for your customers to increase your sales; this can help improve your cash flow and sales numbers. Selling more units at a lower price may also motivate customers to buy more. Experiment and see what works best for your business. It makes perfect sense to set a Minimum Order Value (MOV) and sell more units at lower prices. Conversely, offering lower MOV will encourage many customers to place orders. Surely sellers try to sell as many units as possible; however, MOV can help to better predict your revenue. Consequently, try to find the golden mean by taking some tests.
9. Robust Logistics Chain
If your seasonal business involves shipping your products to customers then you need to plan and prepare an efficient logistics chain so that all your deliveries are on or before time to ensure optimum customer satisfaction. As a rule, customers expect you to get orders on the scheduled day. If you make late delivery, you will probably lose the majority of your customers forever. Integrations with third-party logistics will simplify your shipping processes.
10. Know Your Competition
Knowing your competitors and their strategies can work wonders for you. You can build your niche market by differentiating your products from theirs. Don’t be afraid to learn a trick or two from them to boost your revenues. Competition is an important element in any sphere. Monitoring your competitors and being aware of how they act or manage to stay ahead in the market is essential. Irrespective of the kind of business you have, analysing your competitors will assist in formulating a powerful and effective strategy. Another impressive method is to analyse your competitors’ reviews and comments to make a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses and also customers’ needs.
11. Think Fast and Smart
The world is changing rapidly day by day and so are customers' preferences. You need to be creative and think outside the box to stay ahead of the competition while increasing your product value and customer base. Understanding your customer's pulse and buying pattern is the key. Creative thinking is important in today’s retail world to be a businessperson who is growing fast. Try to give a unique experience in the market and increase your brand awareness and enthusiasm among customers.
12. Seasonal Budget
Although many businesses find this part a bit boring and dislike it, consider it to be one of the most important aspects of the seasonal sales business preparation. Plan and work on your investment requirements and make the necessary funding arrangements to avoid last-minute struggles and setbacks. You must plan for additional seasonal manpower that you may require. Consider Projected Revenue, CAPEX, OPEX, and Cash Flow requirements for the same.
13. Inventory Management
As we understand by the name itself, products that have a special demand during certain seasons or holidays are known as seasonal inventory. Surely, no one can predict the upcoming demand volume with 100% accuracy. But you can get a clearer picture by analysing the data from the previous years. Consequently, you should restock your best-sold products to cover customers’ demand in that special period.
14. Offers and Promotions
Seasonal Businesses are all about offers and promotions. It will be good to learn a few tricks in this area. Things like “New,” “Limited time offer,” “Lucky Draw,” “Package Deals,” and “Bundle Offers” are some of the ways you can promote your products and attract customers to generate sales. Almost every business in the market intensifies its promotional efforts over the holiday period, so having a well-thought-out promotional strategy for the business always pays off. Your unique selling proposition and what you can offer your customers that other businesses cannot be your focus; highlight any new or seasonal products or features that are likely to attract customers around you. This can be a new product line, product packages, or offers such as free shipping or discount codes for email customers.
15. Advertising
Make an Advertising budget and choose your advertising channels wisely. Facebook ads, YouTube ads, or anything that compliments your business well will be a good idea. You can also run some campaigns before the season for pre-booking and during the season to boost sales. Further, real-time study of ROI can help you make necessary changes to your campaigns. The purpose of optimising the advertising strategy for your business is to analyse your business objectives and target audience to make an accurate investment in digital advertising. To run a successful business, you need an effective advertising strategy with smart technology. It allows businesses to grow higher by advertising their brand and presenting their products online.
16. SOP (Standard Operating Procedure)
Plan, document, and implement an error-free fulfilment procedure to execute and deliver goods on time every time. The key is to deliver orders quickly and in huge quantities at a very low cost.
17. Use Intelligence Reports
These reports will not only help you in planning but also give you important insights about market trends and consumer behaviours, which will further help you in making critical decisions.
Also read:
1) Best Tips for Customer Retention for a Small Business
2) Tips to Understand Your Market while Starting a Small Business
3) Tips for Businesses to Overcome the Covid Blues - Revival Tips for Businesses
4) What are the keys to success when operating a small scale business?
5) OkCredit: All you need to know about OkCredit & how it works.
Stay updated with new business ideas & business tips with OkCredit blogs in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi & more!
Download OkCredit now & get rid of your bookkeeping hassles.
OkCredit is 100% Made in India.
FAQs
Q. What are some tips to get your business ready for seasonal sales?
Ans. To get your business ready for seasonal sales, you would need to do the following to start early, have a promotion strategy, do online marketing, study seasonal trends, offer pre-order options, exchange and returns, plan, etc.
Q. What is a seasonal sale?
Ans. There is a surge in demand for products during festivals and special occasions. Buyers are motivated to go for big purchases, and this allows the businesses to start attractive offers and sales; these types of sales are called seasonal sales.
Q. What preparation is required for seasonal sales?
Ans. For seasonal sales preparation, you would need to focus on promotional strategy, do some online Marketing, study the last few years’ trends, research competitors, and plan accordingly.
Q. Why should we prepare for seasonal sales?
Ans. Seasonal sales are very fascinating for customers. They usually plan various purchases during festive seasons like Diwali, Christmas, etc., so there are chances of increased demand; hence, every business must prepare for seasonal sales.