Four Ways to Prepare for the Holiday Rush

Holiday season is right around the corner, and as a small business owner, now is the time to start prepping your business. Consumers are beginning their holiday shopping earlier and earlier, and if your business and employees aren’t ready and organized by the time the holiday chaos kicks off, you could face serious issues. Here are four tips to help you prepare your small business for the holiday rush:

1. Prep your staff: For some small businesses, the holiday season is the busiest season. Be sure your staff is prepared by going over how to manage a rush, and emphasize the importance of quality customer service. These steps will make a huge difference to stressed out holiday shoppers. If you have a small staff year-round, consider hiring temporary staff to help manage the holiday rush.

2. Get in the spirit: Along with exemplary customer service, creating an inviting atmosphere for shoppers to be this season is important. Consider decorating your store, having staff wear Santa hats, or offering free candy canes at checkout. Promote the holiday season by offering special discounts and sales to help bring savvy shoppers into your business.

3. Update your website: As the holiday season quickly approaches, customers are much more likely to be checking out your website for holiday deals, hours and shipping details. Be sure that your website it up to the increased traffic and transactions. If you website crashes because too many people are visiting it, you’ll lose a lot of potential sales. Here are a few other items to be sure are clearly listed on your website:

•  Holiday sales or promotions
•  Holiday business hours
•  Holiday shipping deadlines, i.e. “Purchase by December 17 for delivery by Christmas!”
•  Customer support

4. Stock up and stay organized: With the extra rush the holiday season can bring, it’s important that your business is not only stocked up and organized, but that it stays that way throughout the season. Be sure to have extra stock of your most popular pieces, especially if you will be participating in black Friday deals or special discounts and sales. Keep your stockroom organized so that merchandise is easy to find and items up front can be quickly replaced in a rush.

Telhio Credit Union is here to help your small business succeed. Contact a Telhio business lender representative today at 614-221-3233, option 6 to learn more about their business services and products to help you manage and grow your business, such as loans and lines of credit.

Telhio Credit Union is open to everyone who lives, works, worships or attends school within Franklin County and surrounding communities. Founded in 1934, originally as the credit union for the Columbus Telephone Co., Telhio is a not-for-profit financial cooperative where its members are also its owners. Driven by its philosophy that members come first, Telhio is committed to the highest standards of responsibility and conduct. Telhio offers a variety of innovative programs, services and products to support its members’ financial needs. Telhio offers six branching offices throughout central Ohio and nearly 4,000 shared branching locations nationwide. Federally insured by NCUA. Additional coverage up to $250,000 provided by Excess Share Insurance Corporation, a licensed insurance company.