The upcoming Fourth of July weekend can bring a nice sales boost for most retailers. (Non-US retailers can use this for any of their upcoming holidays as well.) It can be even more productive for retailers who remain focused on turning every customer into a buyer. Owners and managers can make that happen with a little bit of planning and a whole lot of leadership.
Here are eight steps that will help you create an extremely successful Fourth of July weekend.
1) Set daily goals for Thursday through Sunday. You want them to be stretch goals but they need to be achievable. Some managers don't include Thursday, which is a mistake since it can be a good sales day - if you plan on it being one. Lots of people are out shopping before heading out for the big weekend. Don't miss these sales!
2) Next, determine the three to five product categories or promotions that are most important to your store exceeding goal. Of course you want to sell as much of everything as you can but knowing what products and promotions offer the most opportunity is important to maximize the store traffic.
Example: Sammy's Shoe Store is looking to have a big weekend. For them to exceed their goal they will need to have strong Croc sales, a good showing in ladies summer shoes, and they hope to do well with the current New Balance promotion. (Shoe retailers reading this will know I'm making this up but play along.)
3) Determine any new pricing or offers that aren't already in place. Most company stores will skip this step as will retailers who already have done their holiday weekend planning. It's a good idea for all stores to review the pricing or promotions, though, since you are sometimes able to spot an opportunity that you hadn't previously planned on.
Example: Sammy's Shoe already has the New Balance promo in place as well as some other aggressive promotion. One thing they have decided to add is a free Croc charm with every purchase this weekend.
4) Next, identify three to five actions the staff can take that will leverage the key product categories and promotions. Really think this part through. It might be to tell every customer something, show every customer something, ask every customer something, sell every customer something, etc. You get the point.
Example: At Sammy's, they have determined that since the 4th is the start of the their summer season they want to make every Croc sale a multi-unit sale. They want to make sure every Croc customer is shown at least two new styles/colors and that everyone is told about the Croc charm promotion. They are also going to show every woman looking at summer shoes two additional styles. And last but not least, they want to make sure that every customer looking at New Balance shoes is aware of the weekend pricing.
5) Now it is time to brand the weekend. That's right, we're going to name the weekend. It's fun, it gives people something to rally around, and will be an element used in the next step. The name can be something as simple as "The Amazing Fourth of July Weekend," more specific, like "20% Up or Bust," or targeted based on the key products and promos.
Example: Sammy's could call it "A Croc of a Weekend" but instead decides to focus on selling shoes in pairs. Sammy will be rolling out "Pairs for Squares" to align with the contest he's put together.
6) Contest time. Every store that wants to see a sales boost on Fourth of July weekend should put together a contest. Not only will it help drive sales but it makes work a lot more fun for the staff. This is important since some of them might be missing out on holiday weekend activities with family and friends. It also makes sure we're rewarding for right behaviors.
Base the contest on the opportunities you identified in steps three and five. Make it fun and build it on the branding of the weekend. Give out one or two nice prizes as well as a bunch of smaller ones so everyone wins.
Example: At Sammy's they are going to do a few things in the Pairs for Squares contest. First thing Sammy did is post a goal board with fifty squares numbered 1-50 in the backroom. Every time an employee makes a sale that includes two pairs of shoe the employee can put their name in a box. If the sale includes three pairs of shoes they get two boxes, etc.
At the end of the weekend they will draw numbers out of a box and give prizes to the person with that particular box. Sammy's big prize is an iPod and he's also giving away some gift cards and some shoes. If all the boxes haven't been filled in Sammy will keep drawing until someone wins.
At the same time Sammy got his New Balance rep to contribute a prize for a separate contest. The person who sells the highest volume of New Balance shoes over the four days will win their choice of any two pairs of shoes.
7) Kickoff the weekend every day. That's right, every day. On Thursday morning and every time a person comes to work throughout the day the manager/owner will make sure they know the theme, daily goals, the keys to achieve the goals, and the contest itself.
The manager/owner needs to meet with the employees every single day of the weekend to share the day's goal, how the store is doing against goal for the weekend, remind them of the contest, and any other important information. Don't skip this one because it's so important to creating an extremely successful holiday weekend.
8) Lead the team. Talk up the contest. Praise people for doing well. Feed them donuts! That is what we do in retail, right? Have a potluck lunch on Friday. Do whatever it takes to make the weekend sales happen.
And there you go: eight steps to an extremely successful holiday weekend. So what are you waiting for? Good luck and have fun.
Have a Happy Fourth!
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