Christmas Checklist: How to prep your business for the festive season

With less than a month to go until Christmas your To-Do-Lists are probably never ending. In between Christmas parties and present shopping for colleagues and loved ones, everyone is trying to get their things in order for the summer holidays. With most companies winding down towards the end of the year, there is much to consider – including preparing your business for the festive season to ensure you can enjoy your much-needed break without disruptions.

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Website

If your business is shutting down during the holidays or working with reduced hours over the summer, let your customers know on your website. Update your hours of operation in a prominent place and offer an alternative way to contact your business if they need urgent help. Also, to keep your SEO strong during the time of your absence, prepare any blog posts in advance and schedule them in regular intervals over the holidays.
On the other hand, if you are running an e-commerce shop, take a look at your website behind the scenes and ensure you are set up for increased traffic over the holiday period. Things such as mobile friendliness and loading speed will have a huge impact on your conversion rate when everyone is making last-minute shopping trips online.

Facebook, Twitter and co.

Most businesses these days have at least one, if not multiple social media accounts that are regularly maintained. Posting your updated business hours and pinning the announcement to the top of your page will make any changes clearly visible to your followers while at the same time enabling them to interact with you should they have any questions.

To ensure your social media accounts remain active and to continue inviting users to engage with your business while you are away, prepare enough posts in advance to get you through the festive season and schedule them for days you would normally post updates. Provide your followers with engaging content to keep them entertained and even throw in a few offers for the new year. You may even consider increasing the amount of scheduled posts during the summer as engagement is usually higher when people are on holiday.

Google My Business

One of the most common places where people check business hours online, you should definitely update your details on Google My Business. This is especially important for potential new customers who are unfamiliar with your service hours. Mark every day that your business will be closed to avoid confusion.

Email

The best way to reach current clients and customers is to send out a festively themed email newsletter informing them of any changes throughout the holidays. You can personalize your email by thanking them for your support, pointing out highlights from the previous few months and giving an outlook over what’s in store for them the following year.

If you run an e-commerce shop, using email marketing in the countdown for Christmas is also a great way to boost your sales before the year is over. Whether you are creating anticipation for new stock arrivals, offering holidays specials and promotions or are running a competition over the summer – with the right email marketing strategy you can ensure that your business remains on the top of people’s minds even while you are relaxing in the sun.

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And last, but not least, don’t forget to wish your customers an enjoyable summer. And remember to revert any changes you have made over the holidays back to normal when you start back in the new year. If you would like us to help prepare your business for the summer holidays, give the friendly team at Energise Web a call today. We can work through the Christmas checklist with you so that you can finally sit back, relax, and say goodbye to the old year.