Year-end is a defining time for many companies – one that puts business ambitions to the test. While pressure mounts to end the year strong, the lead-up from September is an exceptional opportunity to bulk up and bolster sales in exchange for great year-end numbers.
It is the ideal time to reflect, adjust, and plan. Peel back the business and return to basics. What were your goals for the year? How far have you come? What can you do to get back on track, or is it time to pivot?
Any good plan starts with research. Study your numbers from last year and ask all the questions: What worked last year? What sold well? Was there an increase in customer queries or website visits? Unpack your business processes and identify the bottlenecks and chokepoints that interrupt customer journeys. Find out which channels and customer interactions led to the most successful outcomes.
Also, look at wider industry numbers for yearly to forecast how the months ahead are likely to pan out. What did your competitors get up to last year? Find the opportunities and visualise what you want to get out of the final quarter. Build your strategy from there and measure all ideas against your end goal. It’s important to stay the course and end the year the way you intended.
Map out key dates and plan your marketing around them. In December most people go on holiday. Make sure to reach your target customers before they switch off for the festive season. Concentrate your efforts in October and November before the country starts to slow down.
In keeping with the traditions of the season, September is a great time to spring-clean your business. Unpack and examine how your office operates. Get rid of the clutter and dead weight. Find out what your staff needs to work more efficiently, and ask your clients what you can improve.
Consider investing in technology to digitise and streamline your operations, from project management and customer management to finance automation. A good CRM helps to track efforts across all sales and marketing functions and optimise conversions which improves results. Now’s the time to set your business up to run as efficiently as possible. You’ll thank yourself later.
Clean up your brand assets and customer touchpoints to make sure everything is working as it should. These include any retail outlets or stockists plus your website, social channels, newsletters, databases, directory listings, and affiliate networks.
Websites are a very powerful marketing and sales tool. Review your business processes and administrative tasks – is there anything that can be automated on the website to make the business run smoother? Make sure all your products and services are comprehensively listed online, with the option to purchase. Check that all incoming links to your website are working properly so you’re not losing customers along the way.
While potentially very lucrative with bumper events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, year-end is also a hugely competitive time with marketers competing aggressively for consumer attention. Heading into the final months of the year, test your audiences and messaging to find out what works where in advance.
Reach out to your leads and customers with an end-of-year message. It’s a good opportunity to touch base and ask how you can better support their business as well as discuss any new products, services, or updates on your side. Personalised messages or bespoke offers tend to lead to better results. Bring a tailored proposal to each of your current customers.
Finally, if you are ramping up your marketing efforts, ensure you can handle an increase in enquiries.
Take stock of your inventory and bulk up early. Supply chain issues are common as businesses across the board move to stock up before the year-end rush. It’s important to plan ahead and ensure your inventory matches your ambitions. Materials not used can always spill over into the new year, provided it has not expired.
Partner with GENFIN to charge your year-end preparations with working capital that does not jeopardise cash flow. Our flexible finance solutions empower your business to get ahead of the rush and take advantage of big opportunities.
Visit our loan applications to start your journey towards securing the funding your business needs. For more information on how to prepare your business for funding and to discuss your unique business needs, contact us.
Call: 0800 436346
Email: info@genfin.co.za
Release up to R5 million with a 90-day repayment grace period.
