How to Prepare Your Business for the Holidays

The holiday season can see a significant upswing in sales and foot traffic for many businesses. To prepare for the rush, it’s smart to take an organized and methodical approach that allows you to provide the best possible service even during the most hectic periods. Get started on the right note by keeping these suggestions at the top of your to-do list.

1. Hire Seasonal Staff

If you need to bulk up your staff during the busiest time of the year, now is a great time to hire your seasonal employees. Planning is key so that you can order their custom uniforms for work, provide them with optimal training and prepare them for the weeks ahead.

Training is key to success; employees should be fully versed in how your business runs by the time traffic picks up so that there are no breakdowns in your system. It’s far more effective for your productivity if your permanent employees don’t have to explain guidelines throughout the season. Hiring early will make all the difference.

2. Prepare Your Website

Shopping online is a modern convenience that millions of people enjoy during the holiday season. If your website isn’t properly optimized, however, it could crash at an inopportune moment—such as when you launch your biggest sale of the season or on the last day of free holiday shipping. Make sure that it’s ready to support an uptick in traffic, that the site is easily navigable, that your holiday specials are easy to find and that the shopping cart is quick and functional.

People are quick to leave a slow, underperforming website, especially when the competition is fierce and they can find what they need elsewhere. That’s why it’s just as important to make sure your website is mobile-ready, too, so that your customers have the freedom to shop from their smartphones and tablets with ease. You can also take advantage of this opportunity to promote your business by offering free promotional products with digital orders. It’s an easy way to drive up your sales and help publicize your brand at the same time.

3. Obtain Holiday Uniforms

Transforming your business into a winter wonderland—or at least adding a few festive elements—is an easy way to boost employee spirits and create an inviting space for your customers. While hanging tinsel, ornaments and twinkling lights all contribute to an environment worthy of the holidays, don’t minimize the importance of your staff’s uniform.

If you don’t want to commit to completely new outfits, you can make a few tweaks here and there instead. If employees typically wear blue custom uniform work shirts, for example, you may want to order red or green for the season. Or you might opt to have staff wear red Santa Claus hats instead.

4. Design Gift Guides

What better way to entice your existing customers and appeal to new clients than to create an attention-grabbing gift guide? Put together an attractive digital portfolio that includes your best-selling items, your newest merchandise and anything that you plan to push during the holiday season.

Think about what you can do to boost your sales at this stage. Are you planning to give away something upscale as a gift, like a stylish custom company notebook or padfolio? This is a great place to establish your business as the best place to shop during the holiday season. If your business is a café or a restaurant, publicize your seasonal menu far and wide and make sure to note the dates that the items will be available.

5. Boost Staff Morale

Things tend to get exceptionally busy after Thanksgiving. That rush can be both invigorating and overwhelming, so it’s important to be mindful of your employees' needs during this time. One way to boost morale and keep them going is to establish a team-oriented effort throughout the season. Make it a point to have brief, regular meetings and go over actionable items as needed.

You can also give them something to look forward to by planning your annual holiday party. Think about when this might be most convenient. If your December calendar is packed with sales and late nights, it may be best—and even preferable—to hold the party in January instead. This is a great opportunity to present Christmas gifts for employees as well, as a token of your gratitude for their hard work, dedication to the business and commitment to providing exceptional service during one of the most hectic times of the year.