9 Business Mistakes that Wreck the Holidays
Yes, I am posting about the holidays in August. However, don’t let that confuse you. I’m not one of those people who is already coordinating their holiday wrapping paper and bows.
Now is not the time for that.
But it is time for you to get your blog or business holiday-ready. Whether you are an individual or retail store, I can almost guarantee you are effected by the busyness of the season. Do not wait for the holidays to be here, use my list below of common mistakes to help prepare.
Your website is out of date. Have you viewed your website lately as a brand-new customer or follower would? Have you clicked around and checked links to make sure they are all still active and your pages state accurate information? Is your contact us form actually emailing you when you get a message? Test all of these features on a desktop and a mobile device.
Your pictures could use a refresh. Has it been more than a year since you updated your headshot or a picture of your team? Even if you think nothing has changed frequent visitors to your social media account or website will notice an update and appreciate that you are paying attention to your digital footprint, and not just “setting it and forgetting it.”
Your bio/info page isn’t telling the full story. What has changed in your business/life since you last updated the About page on your website? Have you joined a board? Won an award? Make sure you add any achievements or relevant information that will keep your content fresh.
You don’t have a holiday plan. For a business: Will your hours of operation change? If so, when will you start communicating that change and how will you communicate that to your customers? When will you offer discounts and sales? Will you distribute coupons anywhere and how will you track their effectiveness? For individuals: Will your website/social media accounts have a different look during the holidays? Will you be sharing holiday-related content? Build an editorial calendar now so you can figure out what holes you need to fill.
You aren’t posting to your social media accounts. This is a missed opportunity to communicate with current customers/followers and win over new ones. If you aren’t setting aside an hour every week to do this, I would encourage you to block that time on your calendar now. Many potential customers may find you via social media and if they see you haven’t posted in two years, they may assume you aren’t in business anymore. This goes for all your social media accounts - if you haven’t used YouTube in years, maybe you should delete the channel and funnel all video content to Facebook.
You aren’t pitching your ideas to media contacts. Magazines are working on their holiday issues now. If you have a product that would be a great fit for a “$50 and Under Gift Guide For Mom,” journalists need to know about it and have a high-resolution photo of it ASAP. Journalists are always looking for unique items to include, so what do you have to lose? For digital outlets you have a little bit more time until you need to reach out, but take this opportunity to get a game plan together.
You don’t stock up on supplies. I don’t like to run out of anything: paper towels, vitamins, or sharpies. I don’t like having one missing item making me feel like I need to make an emergency-style run to the grocery store. Luckily Amazon Prime has often solved this problem, but you may have specialty items like branded bags, boxes, stickers, business cards, etc. that you can’t get delivered to your doorstep in a day. Particularly because you may be running through these items much quicker than you do any other time of the year. Do yourself a favor and purchase plenty now.
You haven’t thought about vacation days. Whether you have a certain allotment of vacation days to use by the end of the year, or you know you need to block out days on the calendar to visit with family over the holidays, start having those conversations with colleagues and family now. Especially if you are one of those people who has three weeks of vacation a year to use and you haven’t taken a single day yet. Use every one of your vacation days. Period.
You haven’t thought about your 2020 goals. You know the month of November and December fly by in an instant and then, boom, it’s Happy New Year! I recommend starting your plan for 2020 now. Of course, it doesn’t have to be anywhere close to finalized, but you will have a document you can add to leisurely over the next four months. This ensures it is a well-thought-out plan, instead of one that was thrown together in the last two weeks of the year.
You have time to make this holiday season your best yet - whether that comes in the form of income, preparedness, or stress level. We don’t have to hang the mistletoe just yet, but we can start thinking about where it will go.
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