You may currently be experiencing a lull in trade. Even in bigger stores, traditionally February and March have always been the quietest months of the year. However, with so many businesses now running sales and offers throughout December, the January sales no longer have the impact they once did. While Black Friday and other December deals are great for Christmas trade, the competition is high, and small businesses can suffer, especially at the start of the year. Here are some things you can do to ensure you enter the busier seasons on a high and have the best winter possible.

Winter Sales

While you may not be able to compete with big retailers when it comes to huge offers and sales, have a think about what you could do differently. If you held off sales in December, you might be able to go for it now. Offer free delivery for a few months, and smaller offers, regularly changing the deals to keep people checking back.

Prepare for Spring

Consider setting up a big Spring launch. Have a new line of products coming in, and start advertising it now. Build interest and excitement in your brand. Reward your customer’s loyalty by offering anyone making a purchase now a special offer, or even early access to your spring range.

Focus on Marketing

This is a fantastic time to really concentrate on your marketing strategies. Sit down and plan for the year ahead. What have you got coming up, and how can you market it? Pay a lot of attention to current digital marketing trends, such as social media marketing and influencer marketing, which is set to continue to grow this year. In preparation, make sure your social media profiles are clean and organised, and that you are an active user. Look at the competition in your industry, both smaller e-commerce stores, and larger retailers. What has been working for them? Could you do it better?

Target a New Audience

Use this a chance to target a new audience. Don’t neglect your target market, but take some time to think about what you could bring to other audiences. Conduct some market research. You can easily host a poll on Twitter to ask simple opinions. Asking for feedback or advice is the best way to find out what people want, yet many businesses overlook this simple task.

Use Your Time Wisely

Don’t waste the quieter time. Use it prepare your business plan for the rest of the year, look even further ahead. Make detailed plans as to how you will hit your targets, and what you would change from last year. Spend time focusing on your website, doing simple tasks like updating plugins or refreshing your design. Make sure it works well on mobile. Consider implementing new strategies, such as the use of video. Conduct a detailed stock take, which is something we don’t often get chance to do, but is vitally important. Lastly, if you employ staff, sit them down and review their performance and make action plans with them.

Many e-commerce stores struggle, with some even closing down, from January until March. Make sure yours isn’t one of them.