The Holidays Are Here... Is Your Business Prepared?

The holiday season has arrived. Thanksgiving marks the start of an exciting and fun period for everyone. From a work standpoint, it marks one of the busiest and stressful periods... at least in our industry. I find it interesting that depending on what industry you’re in, the holiday season can be pleasant or an absolute nightmare. Every year we feel the holiday rush in a big way. That includes putting our Five Year Anniversary Party together, new marketing initiatives prepared for the New Year, as well as clients pushing to launch websites prior to the holidays and preparing themselves for the New Year.

Take retail and e-commerce companies for example. Talk about busy... the holidays are not only the cash cows for retail and e-commerce websites, but if you’re missing out on the holiday rush you could be making a big mistake for your business. If you have a retail space, and an e-commerce website, then you’re probably too busy to even read this blog. We have multiple e-commerce clients, and making sure their websites are in top shape for the holidays is a necessity.

We understand that in order to keep our clients successful, we must prepare for these times far in advance. Being prepared is key for any type of business, but it’s especially important during the holidays. For your website, it’s no different, you need to make sure it’s ready to direct traffic to the site and handle that traffic efficiently. E-commerce and editorial sites' traffic can spike at any moment and a site going down at the wrong time could mean lost business. Making sure your servers are correctly configured and provisioned is extremely important. To get people to your website, if you’re not using an SEO or SEM partner, you can use third party directories, coupon outlets, blogs, and forums to spread the word on your super awesome deals. Our newly launched client website, Hamilton Jewelers, is built on Interspire Shopping cart, allowing for mobile purchasing, selling on Facebook, and directory listings by default. Offline marketing initiatives are important for driving traffic as well.  Oh... and don't goof up like the Dallas Cowgirls... make sure to renew your domain or your site will go down.

These times can be seen as a stressful, but if you’re smart and tactful about it, you can use the holidays to your advantage. If you’re a website offering something useful to people during the holidays, take advantage of days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday has quickly become the biggest day for online shopping.  Prepare coupons and discounts, and get your name out there. If your business isn’t season oriented, you can still use the rush in your favor. Team up with other efforts, online or offline, to get your business name in front of people. There are plenty of events and promotions going on that you can associate with. Non-profit events are always special and people appreciate any support, especially during the holidays. Join your employees in a canned food run, or help at the local shelter handing out gifts or food. You don’t have to be an e-commerce site to use the holiday’s to help people, the community, and your business.

How does your business handle the holiday rush? Do you fall behind or use it to your advantage? We would love to hear what it’s like in other industries around the holiday times and the types of things you do to keep the spirits up and tension down.