Why you SHOULD be thinking about Christmas in November

We know, you probably don’t really want to start thinking about Christmas until December, but it’s actually a really good time to start managing customer expectation for the festive season.   Regardless of your business, the majority will be impacted in some way during the month of December.

If you are a business that provides products and services that are likely to see an increase in sales its really important that you get ahead of the game and manage customer expectations.  

  • Is it likely it might take a little longer to respond to messages?
  • Could your goods be delayed in shipping?
  • What is your order cut off date for a guaranteed Christmas delivery?
  • Do you have limited stock of certain items?
  • Will some products have an extended processing time, (personalisation etc)?
  • When are you closed?
  • When will you reopen?
  • How can you be contacted between times (if indeed you can)?

The key to avoid overwhelm for you and your business is to plan ahead.  NOW is the absolute latest time you should be managing expectation.  Be really clear, across every platform that your business uses to promote your products and services, how you are going to manage the festive season.  By doing this you are going to avoid unwanted negativity.  Customers are very quick to recommend but even quicker to advise against using a company or purchasing their specific products if they themselves have had a negative experience.

How are you going to do it?  

If you have a mailing list, now is the time to share a reminder about what amazing products you have and of course ensure that you include all of the above information.

Post on all of your platforms with the information.  For Facebook you could create a pinned post, but when you are advertising your products and services ensure you refer back to that post, ensuring that no customer can miss out on the detail.  For Instagram you can add this information to the link in your bio, which may take them to a specific place on your website, depending on how you have it set up.

For Google My Business, make sure this is posted as an update.

For those businesses that may have a quieter time of the year, don’t risk negativity by also failing to manage expectations if you are planning on having some quality time off, do exactly the same and share this with your customers.  When is the last time they can contact your business to expect a response?  When will you be closed, when will  you back to work?  If you run a business that may need an out of hours urgent response, how is this going to be managed?

Whatever you are doing this festive season ensure you make it there fresh, not frazzled!  Advance management is absolutely key!

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