The holidays are almost over, now is a great time to look back on what worked on what didn’t this year and write down some notes while these ideas are still fresh that you can reference in a few months. Here are some tips you can use right now to have a smoother and more successful holiday next year:

Set Reminders to Start Planning

Depending on what you will be doing for your holiday promotions, you may need to start planning for the holiday season early in the year. At a previous job, we started planning in May. Of course, this was a nonprofit and we raised a large portion of our funding for the year on Giving Tuesday and during the holiday season. Chances are if you’re in retail, it’s the same for you. October is not the time to start putting ads and promotions together for the next month. This leads into our next tip:

Offer Deals

In the early, wild west days of the internet, there was no better deal than Free Shipping. These days, it’s almost an expectation. There are many sales days during the holiday season such as Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and don’t forget the day after Christmas (or Boxing Day as they call it in Canada.) These are great opportunities to draw customers but you should also take advantage of coupons and other discounts to set yourself apart.

Update your contacts

I don’t need to tell you that it’s cheaper and easier to retain a new customer than gain a new one. Your current customers should be the first prospects you reach out to. Make sure your mailing and email lists are up to date.