Oct. 2-8
COMMUNICATIONS Follow local business reporters on Twitter. Be an active part of the dialogue. Ask questions and get real-time feedback. Share useful information and your own perspectives. It all helps build your credibility in the local community.
CUSTOMER RELATIONS Institute a post-sale follow-up procedure for thank-you notes (“Hope you’re enjoying your new frames … Here are some tips on how to care for your eyewear.”) This is too important to leave up to each salesperson to do (or not do) their own thing.
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Oct. 9-15
INVENTORY Call around to well-connected vendors to find out what they think will be hot this year in terms of eyewear-related goods that can serve as gifts this holiday season.
CUSTOMER RELATIONS The gifts you give your best customers are your chance to show off. Branded cookies, golf balls, lip balm, gift cards to a coffee shop always do well, but can you do better? Your goal should be something memorable that customers can use and that gets your name out there.
Oct. 16-22
IN-STORE On busy days have a staff member observe customers to see where they linger, where they bunch up, etc. This could help you see the traffic flow and bottlenecks, and which areas and items are drawing attention.
ONLINE Clean up your digital footprint, removing from your website any outdated content. Keeping it updated will not only ensure a fresh experience for visitors but help you rise to the top of search engines in the run-in to the holidays.
MARKETING Invite some local fashion bloggers in to come and play with your holiday inventory. The influence of such fashionistas grows every year.
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Oct. 23-29
MANAGEMENT Post your November and December monthly and daily goals in the back room. It’s also time to unveil your sales spiff of the year. What will it be? An iPhone, a holiday, a car wash? What about a promise to take your top salesperson to Vision Expo East next March? It’s an investment in your business.
SALES FLOOR The rise in store traffic around this time of year is an opportunity. Pick two or three things you want every customer to experience in your business and talk to staff about how to engage clients with these areas.
SCHEDULING The last half of December is almost guaranteed to be a mad scramble. Start planning now to add extra appointments and bringing forward those whose insurance rolls over earlier to free up slots come Dec. 15. They’ll always be filled.