In the spirit of the Square Community Season of Giving, we have updated our Community Festive Season Survival Guide with new resources and tips that hopefully will help make this time of year less stressful for you and your team.
Learn from the community.
Make the most of your inventory. As fun as it is to stock up on holiday-themed items, it’s important to make sure you don’t take in more than you need and have stock end up in the clearance bins. See how other businesses manage their stock and share their best practices.
Do your homework. Take some time to brush up on your Square products so that you and your team are ready for the holiday rush. Review our monthly product update roundups to learn about the newest tools that will help your business, and subscribe to Product Updates to get alerts of new updates automatically.
Plan your discounts just right. Customers often associate holiday shopping with sales. For many smaller retailers, it may not be beneficial to offer discounts during one of the busiest seasons of the year. Finding the right balance for your business can be hard, but the Community is here to help.
The right time to promote. Is it ever too early to start advertising for the holiday season? For many businesses, the prep begins months in advance before the holidays roll around. Get tips from community members on how to best plan your promotions.
Stand out from the crowd.
Elevate your customer’s festive experience. With colorful decorations, bright lights, gorgeous window displays, seasonal foods, and special events — the holiday season brings out something magical. But magic takes a lot of hard work and planning. Read our interview with Charlie Marshall, chef and owner of The Marshal, to learn more about how they prepare for a magical festive experience.
Explore new selling platforms. There are many ways you can advertise your business, from online to the reliable local media. Consider maximizing your sales this season by connecting with your customers and selling on new channels like Instagram Live or TikTok. Here are some great tips from @DinaLRosenberg to get you set up!
Sellers in North America will also benefit from this article on 5 Strategies to Maximize Sales This Holiday. (If you are reading this from outside the U.S., simply click Continue to United States in the pop-up to read the article in full.)
Take time for yourself.
It’s easy to feel burnt out under the end-of-year pressure. Remember: you are not alone. It’s something that all business owners have gone through. Find some inspiration from other members on how to stay focused and motivated during these seasons.
As things begin to build, it can also be overwhelming to know where to start and can contribute to the burnout. Learn how other business owners approach their to-do list to make it more manageable.
Wishing you a relatively stress-free holiday season — and don’t forget to share your tips with us!
Psst! Subscribe to the blog for more festive season highlights during the Square Community Season of Giving.
Tra is a Seller Community manager at Square. She is responsible for several programs, including Question of the Week, Seller Groups and the Seller Community Mentorship Program.