The festive season is around the corner, and local businesses are already experiencing the pressures that come with this busy time of year. However, nothing exposes weak links in a chain more than when customers are in demand and deadlines are tighter than ever. It’s at this time of the year that businesses should aim to implement a strategy that boosts sales, encourages existing customers to return, and conquests new customer groups.
Oftentimes, the festive season brings with it the burden of excessive orders, overbooked production, unrealistic deadlines, and the risk of non-delivery. However, this year, we’re giving you a handful of tips that can help your business thrive during this chaotic time of year. Here’s how you do it:
Invest in simple, user-friendly software
Is your business still using spreadsheets to manage sales and stock? This is the year to bid farewell to this archaic method and embrace the variety of simple software business solutions on the market. Not only will a reliable and high-quality POS system help you streamline tedious business processes, but it will also allow you to make the right decisions during the festive season rush. From surplus stock to customer trends, a quality POS system will give you the upper hand when facing the pressures that come with the demands of the festive season.
Focus on building skills within your team
Regardless of how user-friendly your chosen POS system is, a certain degree of training is required to ensure that your staff are able to make proper use of the function. Before the rush of the festive season ensues, it is important to tap into your staff’s skillset and identify key role-players who need assistance in building their aptitude for your POS system. This will pay off tenfold once the busyness of the season hits. If you are looking for a new POS system, it is important to invest in software that can integrate with any existing technology that you may have. This will minimise the chance of downtime, and will ensure that you don’t have to spend more once you’ve already made your software purchase.
Get to grips with your capacity
Whether you’ve devised strategic sales solutions, received larger production requests, or simply aim to have more feet on the ground, you will need to analyse the staff component available over the festive period. Often, capacity is the biggest challenge for businesses who are looking to thrive during the festive season. If a significant portion of your staff component are taking leave during this period, it might be time to relook your strategies or opt to hire temporary staff who can assist with balancing the expected workload. With two months to go before the expected rush, now is the right time to start taking a closer look at your capacity.
Tackle red flags in real time
A reliable POS system allows you to identify red flags in real time, giving decision makers the upper hand when it comes to dealing with a crisis. However, it is up to management staff to alert these decision makers to the issues before they become costly mistakes. Instead of waiting to address various business concerns, prioritise risk mitigation ahead of the festive season. Not only will this give you peace of mind, but it will also avoid any dreaded havoc during the busiest time of the year.
It is important to remember that, faced with the current economic climate, South African businesses are required to go the extra mile to ensure their permanency. If you can master the art of thriving during the festive period, there is no doubt that your business will endure the toughest of challenges.
If you are gearing up for the festive season but are looking to make a few changes to your existing software, take a look at our products and services HERE
