How can you really make christmas work for your business? If you’re not in retail, the Christmas period can be a financial nightmare for many businesses. Staff lose productivity, new contracts are put on hold and sales figures take a dive. And that’s not to mention the added costs of putting on the Christmas festivities!

But it needn’t be this way. The Christmas period presents a number of unique opportunities to benefit your busines. So, here are a few ideas to make Christmas work for your business.

Talk to your customers

It’s likely that your clients and prospects will be in a much better mood during the Christmas period.

Take this as an opportunity to get in touch with them individually, whether it’s by phone or email, and find out how they’re doing. Perhaps find out how your service can be improved for them, or let them know about an exciting new offering you have coming online in the new year!

If you haven’t got the capacity to do this, be sure to send out a general Christmas message. Sending a physical Christmas card or an E-shot are great ways to stay at the top of your customer’s mind in time for the new year.

Give something back

They say Christmas is the time for giving, so why not give something back to your customers? After all, without them you’d be in trouble!

Send your customers a gift to thank them for their loyalty, perhaps a hamper or a personalised new calendar for next year. If you’re struggling for inspiration, take a look at our recent piece on promotional Christmas products.

Another option is to offer something of value. Think about the products or services you offer – what could you offer your customers as a thank you for their loyalty? Perhaps a free or discounted item or a free consultation? The beauty of this approach is that it opens the door to other areas of business that perhaps you aren’t already doing with that customer.

Plan for the new year

If it seems like you’re resting on your laurels in the run up to Christmas, why not spend your time planning for the new year? You’ll get a head start on your competitors come January. Think about what you want to the business to achieve and identify how you can get it done.

The new year is a great time to introduce any new cost saving and efficiency measures. We recommend looking at your supply chain and identifying how it can be consolidated. More suppliers equals higher costs, more invoices and inefficiency. Look into a one supplier choice for your ‘indirect’ costs to start with.

Find out how we can help you with that.

Relax

Most importantly, Christmas is a to relax. Giving your employees some time to recharge their batteries is the best way to prepare for the new year. So put your feet up, watch Die Hard, crack open the Baileys and celebrate a great year, you deserve it!