The "Other Holiday Season"

Every year, you can count on one subject to consistently reach the headlines in October, November, December, and January--holiday sales. The holiday shopping season--considered by most to be November and December--becomes the focus of every retailer and reporter. What will be this year's hot product? How long--or short--will the lines be? Who will make money and who will lose money?

Everyone becomes obsessed with the "Holiday Season." Many retailers (and restaurateurs!) lose sight of the "Other Holiday Season"--the rest of the year.

For the majority of retailers, the holiday season accounts for 20-40 percent of annual retail sales.

This means that a significant 60-80 percent of your annual sales occur during the rest of the year; namely January through October.

Don't put all your time and effort into the holiday season basket; a consistent approach to marketing and customer service will help boost your sales all year round. Both retail stores and restaurants can benefit from such an approach.

Listed below are 7 tips to adopting a consistent strategy that you can use to increase sales 12 months out of the year.

1. Gift cards aren't just for the holidays. If you are thinking of offering gift cards for the 2005 holiday season, think ahead; if you offer gift cards today, someone is bound to buy one today. Birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and housewarmings occur every day of the year. Every gift card you sell brings two customers into your store; the buyer and the redeemer.

2. Bring customers back into your store more often. Nothing is more rewarding for a shopper than, well, a reward. Industry studies estimate that it costs 20-40 percent more to gain a brand new customer than it costs to have an existing customer give you repeat business. Offer loyalty plans that promote frequent shopping; buy 10 car washes and get one free. Free t-shirt on your birthday. Receive 10 percent off your next visit within 2 weeks. Customers like feeling appreciated and rewards are a great way to accomplish that.

3. Bring customers back into your store more often, Part 2. Ask customers to give you their names, addresses and e-mail addresses (the best way to do this is to have them fill out a card at the register so you don't hold up your lines). Give them 5 percent off their purchase for filling out the card. Send out weekly newsletters to your customers; tell them about new products, private sales, and special events that will draw them back into your store or restaurant.

4. Speed up your checkout. For every 10 seconds you speed up your average checkout time, your sales will increase by 1 percent. If your employees are spending less time on checkout, they will have more time to greet and assist potential customers. Many people (myself included) will also shop more often in stores with faster moving lines. Old checkout hardware and dial-up credit card processing are major bottlenecks that prevent speedy checkout. Upgrade to faster hardware and process your credit and debit cards over the Internet. New technology can help you decrease your average checkout time by 30-60 seconds (or more) per customer; a realistic opportunity to increase your sales by 3-6 percent.

5. Stock those shelves and freezers--just not too much! You don't need statistics to tell you that snow shovels don't sell during the summer; however, you better have enough shovels in your store when that first storm hits. Many items sell better at certain times of the year, and other items sell year round. However, statistics and reporting can help you stock what you do need and when you need it. Cash Register Express and Restaurant Pro Express keep a full history of what you sold, and when you sold it. Are you using this valuable info? One of the most discouraging incidents for both a customer and a business owner is when the customer comes in ready to buy, and the business is out of stock. Use your reports to see how many shovels you sold last winter, and stock a few extra above that. Use the same reports to spot seasonal or weekly trends of all your items. The detailed sales history in CRE/RPE will help you make educated purchasing decisions; you can prevent losing a sale because you are out of stock, and also prevent over-ordering.

6. Make it easy to buy and return. Organized shelves and clearly marked prices are just as important as speedy checkout; I've left stores before because I couldn't find a product that was probably hidden somewhere in the store. On some of those occasions I asked for help and the staff couldn't find the items! Easy returns are just as important. If a customer doesn't want an item they purchased (or that was gifted to them), or they were unsatisfied with their purchase, let them return it! Most customers will be satisfied with a store credit. If you fight them, they will tell others of their bad experience, resulting in the loss of many customers. If you oblige the customer and take the return, it is very likely they will shop at your store in the future.

7. Be nice. Make sure your staff is nice. Technology upgrades and customer loyalty programs will help your sales, but they can never replace friendly, courteous service. Ask your customers how you can improve your service and follow through on their requests. Pay attention to your customers needs and sell them what they want, not what you think they want. Consistent, efficient, knowledgeable and friendly service is a sure shot way to establish loyal customers that buy more product, more often.