Ready to finish the year strong? Here are 5 ways to set up your business for a successful holiday season.
The holidays are such a busy time for our personal and professional lives that it’s easy to get caught up in the season without ending the year on a thoughtful note.
Without a plan in place for your business, that can often mean missing the mark on your end-of-year goals.
We’ve all been there, right?
There’s so much to do that we end up feeling like we didn’t get anything done at all. Even worse, sometimes our revenue reflects it.
That’s why it’s so important to set yourself up for success before the holidays go into full swing.
And here’s a little secret … it doesn’t have to be all that complicated! It just has to be approached with intention.
5 Ways To Set Up Your Business For A Successful Holiday Season
1. Identify Your Goal
If you want to finish the year strong, it’s important to start with a clear picture of where you are now, as well as where you want to be on Dec. 31.
We suggest starting with a big-picture review of the year so far. When you first set your goals at the start of the year, what was your annual revenue target? How close are you to reaching that goal now? Are there any other end-of-year expenses you need to take into account? Consider all the factors on your bottom line.
Based on the answers to these questions, decide on your revenue goal for the last few months of the year. How much do you want your seasonal marketing campaigns to bring in? Decide on your target, and you can begin to build your seasonal campaigns from there.
Without taking the time to thoughtfully identify your goal, it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle of that endless holiday to-do list and lose sight of the big picture. Before you know it, it will be Jan. 1, and it will be too late to accomplish your year-end goals.
By reviewing 2023 now, you’ll learn what worked and what didn’t, so you can have a clear view of how to move forward with success in 2024. You can get ahead of the curve and start the year feeling prepared and more motivated than ever.
2. Plan Your Seasonal Campaign
Now that you have a clear end goal, you can design a seasonal marketing campaign to get you there. Whether you’re gearing up for Black Friday or simply reminding your clients of your gratitude for their support, this is an important time to connect with your audience.
To craft a targeted and compelling seasonal campaign, start by considering the strategy that will help you most. Do you want to boost revenue with a holiday promotion or flash sale? Do you want to make your clients feel special with a thoughtful gift? Or maybe you just want to take advantage of some important branding opportunities with a year-in-review newsletter.
While your goal will determine the best strategy for you, it’s important to stop and take a moment to put together an intentional plan – otherwise your brand could get lost in all the holiday noise.
Want help assembling a visual marketing strategy? Start here.
3. Rally The Team
Once you have your strategy in place, it’s time to involve your team. After all, you’ll need their buy-in and support if you want to be able to execute your goals. Plus, creating excitement and motivation among your staff will only increase your success and improve your results.
There are many ways to involve your staff, and you may even want to bring them in from the beginning when you set your goals. You can also consider holding individual or small group sessions to check in with your team and see what they need to move forward with success.
At SchlickArt, we do a Strategic Planning Session every year that involves the entire team. We get together to review our goals from the year, see what still needs to be completed, and we set new goals for next year. We also use this time to complete important projects as a team, and we even like to squeeze in a team shoot to get some portraits for the upcoming year. In true SchlickArt style, we have a little fun, too, and we usually finish the day with a good drink and a toast to the year to come.
You can approach this in whatever way works best for your team and goals. Consider a team-building experience such as a wine and painting night, Headshot Happy Hour with SchlickArt, or even a professional development experience like the StrengthsFinder Team workshop. Or you can always keep it simple with a fun holiday party that treats your whole team to some good food, drinks and gifts.
4. Strengthen Your Relationships
Once you’ve figured out your plans for the holiday season and brought in your team, the last thing you may want to consider is your professional relationships. It takes more than you and your team to accomplish most goals, and growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It requires support from your clients, peers and community, too.
For example, if your business relies heavily on a core set of clients, you may want to reach out to them and extend a personalized message of gratitude, or you can invite them to a lunch or round of golf. If your plans include support from peers and power partners in your sphere of influence, then reach out to them, as well. A gift or a show of support during the holidays can go a long way. Finally, don’t forget your community. Finding ways to support local organizations is a great way to connect with new people while investing in the community that invests in you.
5. Create A Future Vision
Finally, you’re well set up for success as this year comes to a close and the next one begins. Once you’ve collected some valuable data and insights from your annual business review, it’s time to put that information to work for next year. Use your revenue from 2023 to help you determine a realistic but aspirational goal for 2024. Then break it down into monthly revenue goals and even smaller sales goals, such as an ideal number of clients each week. Now you can brainstorm marketing ideas to help reach those people each month.
After completing this process, you should have a clear view of the tasks and marketing campaigns you need to implement in the new year. After all, when you know where you’re starting from, it’s easy to see clearly where you need to go.
Visual Marketing Education
At SchlickArt, we know your marketing visuals are only effective if you actually use them. That’s why we help you create powerful photography and video – and then we teach you how to share it. With each session, we’ll give you our best tips based on your specific marketing goals. We provide the education and resources you need to brand your content, integrate it into your marketing strategy, post it with intention, and maximize engagement along the way.
If you want even more tips and resources, we have an educational blog, newsletter and video channel to help you dive deeper, as well as professional presentations, workshops, and coaching sessions if you’re ready to take action and level-up your marketing now.
About Our Quality Video Marketing in Santa Clarita
With years of professional experience, Brian not only has an eye for crisp visuals and engaging shots — but also an ear for powerful storytelling. In his vision, marketing video should communicate the why behind your business and present it to the world in the most compelling visual format possible. With a camera in his hand, Brian can turn a vision into reality and business-as-usual marketing videos into an opportunity to connect.
Marketing Photography in Santa Clarita
When it comes to marketing photography, our goal is simple: We want you to walk away feeling like you have the best headshots in Santa Clarita. That’s why we’ve designed a line of Marketing Photography Sessions that are custom-made to make you happy. How do we do that? Simple. We pay attention to you, your needs and your business. We take the time to create a photography experience – we don’t just point, shoot and send you on your way. We bring our visual marketing background to every session, to help you make smart choices in wardrobe, appearance, posing and expression.