Sep. 29-Oct. 5
MANAGING Prune your to-do list. Just as wardrobes get cluttered with unused clothes over time, so do task lists. Surplus jobs accumulate and it becomes hard to stay on top of your day and what needs to be done.
MARKETING If you’re bringing in a lot of new products this quarter, consider pre-sales to build excitement for this new merchandise. Preview new frames using Instagram Stories with an offer of 10% off for early birds.
Oct. 6-12
MARKETING Review your email marketing from last holiday season to see what types of communication generated the highest engagement. Consider segmentation to take advantage of easily targeted consumers.
MERCHANDISING Spread out best sellers across the store to encourage browsing and impulse buying.
Oct. 13-19
SEO It takes 30-45 days for website changes to register with major search engines. Now is also the time to start adjusting content for the holiday season. Put Christmas into your titles and keywords and start putting that into people’s heads.
MARKETING Make plans to hand out bounce-back gift certificates with all purchases in November and December. The “bounce back” is to get the customer to come back during the first quarter. Make a unique offer for each month.
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Oct. 20-26
INVENTORY This time of year, it’s all about having the right product and knowing your regular FSA/HSA buyers, says Nick Stubblefield of Eye Care Avenue in Frisco, TX. “I have one patient that comes end of year and she likes super fun stuff. I always make sure to stock up on the fun stuff for her (and other last-minute buyers).”
OPERATIONS Work with employees to make sure everybody has the materials and equipment they need to do their best work this holiday season.
Oct. 27-Nov. 2
CLIENTELING Connect personally with all your top customers before Dec. 15. Store consultant Megan Crabtree says this could include custom Christmas or Hanukkah ornaments inscribed with family names, or simply sending out handwritten cards.
SALES FLOOR Look into scent diffusers. Pine, cinnamon, and mulled cider — combined with the sounds of carolers, hymns, and pop holiday tunes — will reinforce the spirit of Christmas and gift giving.
