2017 IS ALMOST A WRAP. HOW DID WE GET HERE SO FAST? WITH 2018 HURTLING TOWARDS US IT CAN BE EASY TO FORGET THIS YEAR WHILST PREPARING FOR THE NEXT. FINISH THE YEAR STRONG WITH THESE GREAT TIPS:
Keep costs low.
Holiday season spending is the easiest thing to do, both in our personal lives and in business. The sales, deals and opportunities, presented to us this time of year can be overwhelming and often impossible to pass up. That being said, it can be easy to get wrapped up in the spending spirit and land in 2018 with a low budget.
Stay in the minds of your customers
Make sure you put in the effort to stay connected to your clients during this busy time and keep your business on their minds through the holidays. One of the best ways to do this is by sending out Holiday “thank you” cards to show your clients just how much your appreciate their business. If you can afford to do so; adding a gift certificate or coupon for the new year will give them a reason to come back as soon as the new year has started.
Create holiday or New Years specific services that will “last for a limited time”. Don’t worry about seeming too pushy, just remember that you’re offering services to your clients that can help save valuable time during the busy season. Remind customers of other services you offer in case they forgot. these are the times when people are most busy and in need of all the help they can get.
Automate!
Think about how much time you spend managing your scheduling, your clients and your team. Chances are, instead of spending your days growing your business, marketing and bringing in new clients, you’re trapped at a desk and on the phone while you constantly play catch-up. You’d rather spend your time updating your website or looking for binding solutions for your marketing booklet, but you simply might not have the time to do it. Take a moment to review just how much time you could save if all of these processes were automated. From accounts payables to billing to team management to customer data entry, look for ways to save time by streamlining tasks – your days can be better spent. In case you are concerned that automated systems might require a significant investment, you could consider outsourcing time-consuming tasks like data entry to form processing services. Although, when it comes to things like customer data, you don’t want to not be overseeing this as some of the information you’ll be processing is sensitive and has to be handled in a proper and correct manner, there are reputable companies out there that you trust with such tasks. You can also use this link to find out about auditing and consulting services you can use to better understand how to responsibly store private data and address any weaknesses in your security.
Handlr can help you with all of this. By automating your scheduling, managing your team, and providing customers with a streamlined booking experience with GPS tracking, notifications, and automated payments. You can set up your full 2018 schedule today!
Plan the next year.
Learn from the mistakes you made this year. What were your biggest problems? What drove away customers? What took up valuable time that could have gone elsewhere? Follow up on the things that worked in your favor. For example, if your social media marketing campaign went well, look for ways to reach more people. For this, you may need to buy Instagram followers or create unique Facebook or Twitter challenges. Keep moving forward, whatever path you choose to take. Identify all the things that led to growth and use these to plan ahead and get yourself ahead of the curve.
Handlr can help get you there, as you’ll spend less time in a frantic struggle with your daily operations and more time focusing on the big picture.
