The holidays are almost here. Shoppers would be all over the place. How can you make the most of the fast-approaching season? Preparation! Preparation is key to maximizing the oncoming holiday season for your business. How can you prepare your business even though it is a small one for holiday sales?

10 ways to prepare your small business for holiday sales

1. Take inventory; this is the first and most important step in preparing for holiday sales. You do not want to be out of stock on items that shoppers would usually need for the holiday season. If you have a record of what the last holiday shopping season was like,go back to it and see what you need to stock on.

2. Plan time limited sales: this would create a sense of urgency in the minds of your customers.

3. Holiday decorations: Decorations are a vital part of holiday sales. Use all the fancy lights and banners to let people know that you are ready for the season. Be careful though to not let the decorations be in sharp contrast with the items you have on display.

4. Schedule time off for your employees: tour employees would no doubt want to spend some time with their families during the holidays. Now is the time to draw up a schedule so that you do not end up being short staffed when you need your employees the most. If necessary,plan for and train extra staff

5. Plan for discounts and promotions: Now is the best time to decide what a customer gets for multiple purchases. This is also the time to reward your customers for their patronage all year round. Decide what bonuses loyal customers get and also make arrangements for discounts on certain products.

6. Make arrangements for ads both on social media and other platforms: you want to begin now to build enthusiasm for people who want to shop from you during the holiday season. Begin now to design ads that would map out ads that would lure repeat customers and first timers to your outlet during the holiday season.

7. Plan for multiple payment systems: This is very important. What you are after is the customer's money. Make it easy for that to come to you by planning for multiple payment systems. Accept cash,bank transfers and make use of point of sale machines or other acceptable means in your locality to facilitate payment during the holiday shopping season .

8. Plan for your customers to buy in different ways: yes,make your website user friendly such that customers can navigate and shop from it seamlessly. Also pay attention to your social media pages. Do not just focus on only your physical location. Make arrangements to get items delivered to your customers wherever they are, also make it possible for customers to be able to pick up their ordered items as soon as they come into your store

9. Price your products competitively: prices of most items go up during festive periods. Be careful to not overprice or underprice your products. Find out how much specific items go for at competing stores and fix your prices reasonably

10. Plan to stay organized: you can do this by following through on the other 9 plans earlier stated. Additionally make back up plans for every plan you make,just to be on the safe side.

The 10 ways highlighted in this article are practical ways to ensure that your business, whether small or large, is prepared for the fast approaching holiday sales.

You can use SmartSMSSolutions bulk messaging service to reach out to your customers to remind them of upcoming discount sales and promotions. Create a free bulk SMS account with us if you have not done so already.