The holiday season is a “love it or hate it” time for businesses. Some industries are overloaded during these short months, as demand skyrockets for popular gifts. Others, like lawn care, experience the opposite effect, seeing a dramatic decline until the weather warms up again.
Whether you’re balancing an increased workload or trying to stay busy until spring, one thing is for sure: Optimizing your holiday workload is a matter of managing your time effectively.
Adjust Your Appointment Slots
Your scheduling software is essential for perfecting your workload. To accommodate a greater volume of appointments, you can add new time slots into your software. If you can’t cut the margin of time between appointments, make space by extending your company’s hours.
Another strategy to maximize each appointment is to extend its length. If you can squeeze more services into each appointment, then you might be able to bring in more revenue by booking fewer customers each day.
Focus on Safety
The 2020 holiday season will be unique due to COVID-19. Business will put a premium on making customers feel safe and welcome. To encourage yours to drop by, focus on your office protocols.
Enforcing a PPE policy, cleaning regularly, and enabling social distancing are all measures you can take to promote a safe and healthy environment. The safer you can make customers feel, the more appointments you will be able to book.
Look to Seasonal Workers
If your business is seeing a huge influx of appointments in preparation for the holidays, you might need to expand your team temporarily. Seasonal workers can help your team handle the extra influx of customers.
What if your full-time employees are trained professionals — the sort that can’t easily be replaced by seasonal hires? Consider hiring students in their respective fields as assistants. Surely, these employees can help with logistical tasks, such as organization and cleanup. A mechanic who doesn’t have to clean the shop floor afterward can service more vehicles, for instance.
Tighten Your No-Show Policy
With the holiday rush, you might be turning away more customers than normal. Instead of saying “no” to those who book and show up on time, tighten up your no-show policy.
This feeds two birds with one scone: Not only does it discourage bad customer behavior, but it shows appreciation to those who follow the rules. Just be sure to post your updated no-show rules in obvious places, such as on your door and the homepage of your website.
Hold a Holiday Promotion
If your appointment schedule looks a little bare, it’s time to whip out a classic holiday promotion. Nothing gets consumers more excited this time of year than discounts.
Your promotion of choice can be as simple as a price cut or as complex as a referral program. When in doubt, ask your customers: Would they rather save a little on every purchase, or save a lot when they bring a friend to your place of business?
Whatever you choose, advertise the deal as widely as you can. Email it to your customer list. Post it on social media. Ask your partners to mention it to their own clients.
Add a Gifting Option
Not everyone you meet will be interested in your promotion or services, but they might know someone who is. To expand your reach and fill your appointment slots, add a gifting option.
Most companies do this with a simple gift card. You can go that route, or you can add your own flair by putting together gift baskets that can be purchased and distributed. Include in each basket a gift card along with some holiday treats or products from your partners.
Go Mobile
If your line of work allows for it, take your business on the road to expand your holiday reach. For example, massage therapists can set up shop at malls to reel in shoppers for walk-in sessions.
Use this opportunity to promote your permanent location. Make a good impression, and you’ll convert what would’ve been one-time customers to regulars.
Lean on Walk-Ins
Under normal circumstances, relying on walk-in appointments is an inefficient way to run your business. However, if your appointments are few and far between, you can use walk-ins as a way to increase your revenue.
On days when you don’t have many appointments booked, post online that you have a lot of availability. Offer a walk-in deal to the first few customers who arrive. Encourage them to tell their friends.
Say Thanks
To your loyal customers, send out a holiday message to thank them for their loyalty. This is a great way to recognize their loyalty and to remind them that it may be time for another visit.
Another approach is to highlight your top customers on your social media pages. People love public recognition even more than a private “thank you.”
Be proactive this holiday season. Don’t just deck the halls; deck your schedule. By the time Christmas comes, you’ll be counting your blessings.
