Consumers, Inflation, and Holiday Spending: How to Keep Your Business Booming in Uncertain Times
As a local small business, we understand how inflation has affected everything from materials costs, to supply chain issues and even paying your own employees. What began as a temporary concern has escalated into a nationwide problem. With the holidays officially here, studies are showing that consumers plan to 1) purchase fewer gifts this year, and 2) what they do purchase will rely on discounts and bargains.
This doesn’t exactly cast a glimmer of holiday cheer for business owners. But, despite the challenges you may face as a business owner, there are ways to maintain profit during dips in the economy without compromising your business model or vision.
First, communicate with your employees and open the floor for discussion
All great business owners understand that the health and well-being of their employees will always take precedence. So while you may want to tackle the elephant in the room first - “how are we going to make it through the holidays and maintain profits?” - the first order of business should be your employees. After all, employee retention is huge and many businesses are losing employees at higher rates than ever before.
Keep in mind that your team is also struggling with inflation - but as consumers. As their employer, you’re their provider. Your employees may be looking for a pay raise, or simply wish to voice their concerns. The point is to open up communication. As you enter a sometimes hectic season for business, getting your employees in the right headspace and tackling any internal issues will improve customer service.
Cut costs
Arguably the easiest way to save a small business in a struggling economy is to cut costs. That may mean going paperless and using more apps (TelosPay!), allowing employees to work from home and reduce office space costs, and using second-hand systems. Supply chain issues have affected almost half of small businesses so diversifying your vendors is a great option as well. Shop around, do some heavy lifting on finding new options, and you might be surprised at what you save.
Consider offering discounts and deals to customers
But be intentional. Maybe you have products that need to be moved out for the next season anyway. Is there new inventory coming in? Anything that may expire in the next month? Sounds simple, but many businesses miss the opportunity. You can use these products to promote “SALE” outside your business to increase foot traffic and get customers talking.
Save money with TelosPay
With TelosPay, we can offset 100% of your credit card fees. This has saved our clients thousands of dollars. Not to mention, we offer text-to-pay, a convenient, contact-free way for your clients to pay, and 24/7 customer service. We are a local, small business, just like you, so we understand the necessity in cutting costs while providing customers with the best possible experience.
To read more about TelosPay, click here.