Post-Holiday Review
Now that the holiday shopping has waned, take a little time to review and evaluate your Holiday 2014 plan of attack. Whether you call it a postmortem, criticism, scrutiny, examination, or just a pondering, this is the time to do it while details are still fresh in your mind.
What worked well? What would you do differently? Were your store hours appropriate? Did you have enough staff? Did you run out of gift certificates? Wrapping paper? Tape?
Look closely at the areas of staffing, hours, supplies, inventory, shipping, decor, weather, specials, events, promotions and communication. Would you change anything in these areas re: timing or execution?
Now, put your notes in a file labeled Holiday 2015. When you look at the items on the list, what’s the earliest you need to act next year? Set a reminder in your phone for that date that reads, “It’s time to look at that Holiday file.” And in the meantime, as you go through 2015 and see ideas for display, gift wrap, or sidelines, etc., you have a place to collect these items so you’ll no exactly where to find them.
