It can be hard to know exactly when Christmas should start for a business. Whilst most people will be happy to see Christmas decorations and Christmas offers on display only once December appears, some businesses will happily start displaying Christmas promotions as early as the summer. So when is the best time to turn your business into a winter wonderland?
Ultimately, even if you do not display any Christmas stock or deals until later in the year, it will be wise to start planning for Christmas early on. Having a solid promotional strategy in place will be vital so that, once you do decide to turn on that Christmas charm, you will get it right first time and have the best chance of standing out from the competition.
Those offering services that may be even more in demand over the Christmas period, such as caterers and venues, may need to get in even earlier with their planning and promotion, as many individuals and businesses alike will look at planning Christmas parties very early on. This is to ensure they get their first choice as opposed to a second-rate establishment or catering company that happens to have been overlooked by everyone else. This means that planning menus as early as possible will make a huge difference, as will knowing what prices you will be charging, and exactly which days and times you will be offering your services.
This doesn’t mean that those offering catering have to start focussing solely on Christmas from the summer onwards and nor does it mean that any promotion will have to be done early on. However, such businesses should expect enquiries from to come throughout the year and so should be ready to respond with sample menus, prices and even availability.
This will mean that finding the right catering food suppliers early on will also be important. Unless you know what food will be on offer from food wholesalers and how much this will cost, it will be hard to adequately create a menu accordingly and in turn you may either find that you are not charging enough or that your prices are putting customers off when really you could charge far less by simply buying supplies from the right vendors.
For the majority of businesses, displaying Christmas stock or promotions will not have to commence until November. In fact, some customers may well be put off when businesses start to do so earlier. However, planning should commence long before this, with a great deal of focus being placed on the deals that will be offered and the promotional avenues that will be explored. For restaurants and caterers, though, the run up to Christmas will start even earlier and not only should caterers be aware of what they will offer, when, and at what price, but they will also need to start promoting their services long before winter too.
In turn, finding the right catering supplies sooner rather than later will be vital, whether you choose to place orders for supplies in advance or simply want to receive them early and store them yourself.
Adam Howes is a freelance writer and sometime chef who contributes regularly to a wide range of food and lifestyle sites such as 3663.