Seasonal Sales Slump Survival
How to keep sales up when decorations go down

What once seemed like Grand Central Station now seems like a ghost town. The phone hasn’t rung for hours and the shelves are looking a bit bloated. The holidays may be over, but that doesn’t mean your sales should be too.

Even though most shoppers like to go home and lick the wounds they inflicted upon their finances, that doesn’t mean you should throw in the towel, cut hours, and defer payments to your creditors just yet. Here are some advice and tips to help you survive the post seasonal sales slump.

First of all, let’s talk about preventative measures. Recall the morals you learned from the fable, The Ant and the Grasshopper. Several people make the mistake to spend more during the times when they make more. For future reference, avoid falling into this trap. Instead, try to keep spending at the same level and save. This will help you prepare for the slower months ahead.

Advertise your business more during this time of the year. Not only will this keep you in the forefront of your customer’s minds, but it will also generate more traffic through awareness. Plus, these months will have a higher success rate because it’s at a time when they won’t be as overloaded with advertisements. You could even offer special discounts to customers that mention the ad. This both gives incentive to buy and allows you to gauge whether the advertising is really affective.

Have a great sale. Offer sales such as buy 1 get one free or buy 1 get one 50% off. Several business already mark their merchandise at 100-300% more than what they pay for it, so by slashing prices, your customers will feel like they are still getting a great deal and you will still be turning a profit. Just be sure to stress that this is a limited time offer. That way, your customers will feel a sense of urgency and take advantage of the deals now.

Host a special event in your store. Advertise that you will be hosting a special sale or party in honor of some event, like an “End of the Season Event”. Give your visitors complimentary beverages and snacks and give your customers special deals and coupons for this day only. People love to receive free food, and this will certainly attract visitors. It will also enable you to generate more sales and have more repeat customers in the future.

Don’t forget the up-sale. When the customer walks up to the register, offer a great additional item to compliment. For instance, are they buying a book, suggest a book light, or a bookmark. Also, when building your displays, cross-merchandise so customers will be encouraged to up-sell themselves. For example, if you’re selling electronics, display batteries next to them so customers remember to buy both. It’s convenient for the customer, and helps increase your sales.

If you still find yourself with a lot of time to kill this season. Take advantage of it. Use the time to catch-up on paperwork, plan for the coming months, or just clean-up and reorganize. It might just give you the time you need to prepare for next year.

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