July 29, 2022
Most businesses divide the work year into quarters - Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4. These quarters are linked to the seasons of the year and the activities associated with them.
Apart from the internal changes, the business strategy directed outward also drastically depends on the season and quarter. Specific holidays and discounts, high and low seasons and so many more factors affect it.
This article will discuss the steps a business should take to prepare for the changing seasons.
The beauty of businesses today is that if you have a great social media presence, people will follow you. This gives you, as a business, access to their daily life. But not in a creepy way! People open instagram when they are chilling at home, in a coffee shop, spending time with their families and friends. And if they happen to see your business wishing them a happy new year, they will appreciate you a bit more! Even better if you send your customers a physical note, those are so rare!
We all have an idea of the seasonal characteristics - it snows in winter, leaves fall off the trees in fall, flowers start blooming in spring and it's warm and sunny in summer. Some businesses add design elements to their website and social media to demonstrate the change of season. But some business owners don't stop there, and completely customize their website and other business infrastructure according to the season - advertise seasonal products, launch new sales funnels, support their business during the down season and make the most out of the seasons when their sales are high.
A great example of design customisation is Telegram - around the wintertime they launch a theme on their entire app which shows snowflakes falling, specialized winter-themed stickers etc.
You, as a business decision maker, most likely have a lot of data on your hands. Data regarding when you make the most sales, when you earn the most money, what products are purchased and when. This data can help you forecast and make projections for your business future. There is a good saying “by failing to plan you are preparing to fail, and it stands true in business too - in order to achieve your grand business goals, you have to set milestones.
Yes, plans are great, but you have to have the resources to make these plans come to life. So, a good rule is sitting down with your managers at the beginning of every quarter and checking in to see if the reality is matching the expectations. Sometimes, they don't and in order to make something happen more resources are needed. This would be a good time to assess whether more people need to be added to the team, more monetary resources are needed, or perhaps the existing team needs training and guidance.
Imagine this. You are working towards your goals as a company, and then half of the team suddenly resigns. Some are burnt out, some never believed in the mission and vision of your business, for some the pay was not enough… So many other reasons but the result is the same - you now have to rapidly look for someone to substitute the people that left. This means your hands are busy finding new people, while the people that are left are overworked and goals are left unattended. Ideally, you should check in with your employees more often than once in a quarter, but right before you begin a new quarter could be a great time to do so, anyways.
This article was just a short breakdown of how you can prepare for the next quarter or a new season of the year, as a business owner or decision maker. This list is not mandatory, and is there to help you at least get an idea of what you could do. Each business needs an individual approach, and perhaps you can already think of some things needed for your specific circumstances that need to be prep
It is free for 15 days anyway. Possibly the best decision you can make this year...
