Oh my, it’s that time again.

I’m sure Christmas starts earlier every year. The supermarkets were full of Christmas food and gifts at the end of September and I swear I heard Jingle Bells yesterday.

This means one thing for businesses - opportunity.

Whether your industry gets busier or quieter during the festive period you still need to plan ahead in order to maximise the opportunities available to you.

In terms of Marketing, if you are a true strategic marketer and visionary you probably would have already planned for Christmas 2017 in January 2016. Your quarterly plan will have fed off your overall business and marketing plan and all you have to do now is sit back and implement the plans you’ve already laid down.

If you hate planning ahead and like to go with the flow you’ll probably think about Christmas mid November. Either way there is some element of activity that needs to go on to get you closer to your goals.

If your business slows down at Christmas you can use the time to look ahead to the next quarter or do all the things that you have been putting off/too busy to do during the chaotic times. Communicate and praise your staff, go out with the sales teams, meet with your agencies. Get real - get visible.

If your business picks up at Christmas you need to make sure you maximise everything that comes your way and that you have the resource to match the demand. It’s also important to use the time after Christmas to reflect on what you have achieved and what could have been done better.

Whatever goes on in your business during the festive period make sure you review what’s been done. Learn about the people who work for you and what makes them tick.

When New Year comes there’ll be a new focus in the air, people have a fresh outlook and optimism on life usually which means you may lose some staff but you’ve got just as much chance of gaining some new great ones too. Clients are looking for new reasons to buy and in particular looking for value for money so gear your marketing efforts up to keeping the client engaged and giving them new but consistent messages.

If you haven’t got a clue where to start with seasonal marketing planning, give me a shout. Performance@gemmaangharad.com

07568387081