Make your SMB Successful in the Fourth Quarter

This year is truly speeding for businesses and consumers alike, with the holiday season fast approaching. For businesses in countries like the United States, India, Brazil, Philippines, and others, the still ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is still causing some issues. Many physical stores have either closed or adapted by going online.

Now, whether the fourth quarter is your busiest or your slowest, you must put extra effort this year to recuperate on lost potential. You must assess your business and prepare for the upcoming season so you can finish strong. Consider the following:

Build a list. Find your best customers, including your top prospects, cold leads, and those prospects that are still on your wish list. Be proactive with strategies in the fourth quarter, as it is vital to your success. Sit down and consider who exactly you will spend this fourth-quarter advertising to, where is the highest and most appropriate use of your time?

Ready your staff. The holidays are fun for most people, but it can be stressful for all those working in the retail space. However, you can lighten the load by preparing your staff for what to expect. Meet and discuss expectations, extra sales, shipping, and fulfillment. Consider bringing in extra helpers if you foresee that the workload is just too much for your current staff. All of these will ensure your customers and staff are under less pressure and ultimately produce more profit for the business.

Start preparing your promotion/marketing schedule. Businesses need to prepare their promotion/marketing schedules in advance to make sure that they won’t miss key opportunities to sell. At the start of the year, create a marketing plan with dates and ideas. Doing so will let you and your staff focus on key marketing materials with enough time for changes and revisions.

Create forecast for demands and inventory. It can be difficult to forecast sales no thanks to the constantly changing economy. However, by using past sales analytics and further research, businesses should project sales fairly accurately. Ensure that you stock on the most popular products before the busy seasons arrive.

Differentiate your business. One of the most vital parts of preparing for the busy season is making your business different. Your competition will be looking to get a big slice of the sales pie, so you better ensure that your products/services are well differentiated and bring real, lasting value to customers.

For instance, in India, where the holidays are especially busy, domain registration India offers cheap options for small businesses. These new domains can be used either as standalone landing pages or as specialized sites for some of your other offers. If you still don’t have a website, the fourth quarter and the holidays are the perfect time to get one.

The fourth quarter is a vital three-month period for businesses to boost sales performance and serves as a closing segment to reaching your annual sales objectives. Apply the tips here to assess objectives and communicate and motivate your staff to improve your success! Plan while reviewing your third-quarter results.