Christmas Already!
It may seem somewhat counter-intuitive to begin planning for Christmas in the middle of the summer holiday season. However, there are a number of reasons why it can in fact be good to do so. Firstly, as we discussed in a previous post, time out and about, away from the routine jobs and inspired by new places, spectacular scenery or gentle countryside, can be a great springboard for fresh creativity and also provide some headspace to begin thinking forward to Christmas stock. Secondly, the Christmas buying season, as we all know, begins well before December and being organised will maximise sales. Thirdly, as you juggle a business with home and personal life, a little advanced organisation will help you to approach the holiday season with less panic and more excited expectation, less exhaustion and more joy. So, while we hope you are taking a well-earned break and enjoying some summer beauty, good food and stimulating culture and history, we hope this blog post will give you some ideas to mull over for when you get back to work. We have put together a list of suggestions to help you in your Christmas planning. Some will be relevant and some not; take what is useful to you and use it as a prompt to build a planning framework for your unique business.
Start by taking a look at last year’s Christmas sales. When were the peaks, when did the sales begin, if you sell online can you learn anything from promotions, postage practicalities or customer feedback?
Have a think about your customers. Has anything changed since last year? Have you enlarged the scope of your customer base ie. reaching out to teens as well as children? How has the current economic climate affected your target audience?
Once you have completed a thorough overview, it is time to create your own Christmas crafting calendar. You could include dates by which you would like to have certain stock completed, dates by which you aim to have Christmas stock uploaded on your website, dates for sending out emails to your customer base, dates for markets and fairs, and don’t forget to book a date for a Christmas work celebration!
Christmas is an excellent time to sell at fairs and markets so take a look at what is around and book yourself in. You could also start thinking about any attention-grabbing displays or offers which will make your stall stand out for the others. If you will need help for the day, it might be advisable to find someone soon as we all get so busy in the lead-up to Christmas.
With craft fairs in mind, it is good to ensure you have the correct insurance in place. This will depend on how and what you sell. To illustrate this, we will take jewellery as an example. Your first question might be “What are the legal requirements of selling jewellery UK?” There are no legal requirements for selling jewellery or any other hand-crafted item at fairs, but many organisers will ask for it. You may sell online or have other retailers sell your stock and wonder “What are the legal requirements of selling jewellery UK?”. Again the answer is that there are none, but that we strongly advise that you have both product and public liability in place if you are selling in any way to the public. While you will put everything in place to avoid any potential problems, the whole purpose of insurance is that it covers you for the unexpected, for those situations you cannot possibly foresee. As a small family business, we place high value on our own customer relationships and communicate directly with each of you. So, as you start the countdown to Christmas, drop us a line or pick up the phone and either Naomi or Sam will be here to answer your questions about insurance, including “What are the legal requirements of selling jewellery UK?” and enable you to get this one ticked off your “to do” list.
Once some of these structural foundations are in place, you can start getting creative! What are you going to sell this year? Will you have some seasonal themes and limited edition products? What message are you wanting to portray? For example, if you make bath products you may focus on self-care with a good conscience; if you make candles, you may have a cosy vibe; for those who create ceramic tableware, you may want to convey the homely message of families gathering round the dinner table over Christmas.
As you come up with a marketing strategy you might consider what promotions or giveaways you could offer. For example, could you include gift wrapping if the orders are in by a certain date? If you decide to do this, make sure you have the required gift wrap in plenty of time; any leftover can be used for your own wrapping, or saved until next year.
If you sell online, you could consider gift vouchers. If you are selling at fairs locally, you could think about offering workshop vouchers to be used in the New Year.
Finally, as you release your stunning and unique products into the world over Christmas, you can have the satisfaction that they will bring delight to those who receive them, they will have a longevity which their mass-produced counterparts may not and they will have been produced locally and with a care for the natural world in which we live. As well as all this, you could think about giving a donation to a charity from each sale. If you do this, make sure you put details and a link to your chosen charity on your website, and if you sell at fairs, have some handy information at the ready.
We hope this has offered you a few prompts to set you on course for some great Christmas sales. In the meantime though, make the most of and enjoy all that the great British summer has to offer!