There’s no doubt about it, the holiday season is one of the busiest times for small businesses, especially for the retail industry. It can be overwhelming for you as the small business owner looking to elevate and capitalize on your goods during this high traffic shopping period. If you’ve gone through more than one holiday season, you already know the importance of getting ahead of the curve before the busy season is underway to reach your business goals.
Every day we work with small business owners like you to determine how to leverage our funding in the most impactful ways. At Reliant, we know how advantageous a strategic investment can be during the holiday season. Instead of worrying about having enough funds to last through the busy season, we want small businesses to focus on their efforts to make the most of it. Here are some ways our funding can help your retail business.
Hire seasonal staff or increase hours
In 2016, more than 154 million consumers shopped in stores and online around Black Friday , totaling $655.8 billion in sales. The holiday season means more customers, which means more sales. However, many small business owners find that such an influx in customers and sales can be hard to manage. In order to surpass sales goals, you may consider hiring holiday helpers. Another option is to offer extended working hours to current employees to cover the rush. While a typical small-or medium sized business might not be hiring in the thousands like bigger retailers, on a smaller scale, it’s a smart tactic. Securing extra working capital to cover more man-hours for the all aspects of retail operations: registers, managing inventory and helping customers, can offer a huge ROI.
Create Holiday Advertising/Marketing Campaigns
Getting ahead of the curve is the name of the game when it comes to marketing during the holidays. No sooner has Halloween ended do we start to see holiday ads and marketing everywhere. If you are investing in more inventory, your marketing strategy should be perfectly aligned to reflect any special offers or deals. Just as customers are starting to think about the holidays, you should be listing in local holiday gift guides and hyping up deals ahead of time. Also, think about running a giveaway incentive to show your customers appreciation and drive more interest.
Ramp up Inventory or expand services
You may already know the benefits of buying inventory in bulk. It is the best tactic anytime there is a discount for doing so, saving you money in the long run. The timing for investing in specialized inventory before the holidays can position you for success during the holiday season. The issue may be that you lack the extra cash flow to do so up front without putting a squeeze on the business. The extra capital obtained through alternative financing will allow you to capitalize on increased or holiday themed inventory in preparation for the demand.
Recognize your employees
There is something to be said about any company, big or small, that is willing to show employees they are valued. For example, here at Reliant Funding we celebrate our year’s accomplishments during the holiday season every year at a nice venue in December. Other companies may give out cash bonuses or gift cards. Whatever rewarding loyal employees looks like to you, having the extra cash to do so creates a sense of family within your business and boosts moral.
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