Despite the year we’ve just had being quite like no other for the business world, some normal patterns and trends still remain. One of those is happening right now in the form of the post-Christmas slump, but January, despite not being a great business month for virtually any business, is actually a key time in the calendar.
That’s because now is the time to focus on your business’s development going forward. So, if you’re not already taking the time to look into how you can make improvements over the next 12 months, here’s why you should be.
A time to reflect and resolve
On a personal level, new year is typically a time for reflection on the past 12 months we’ve experienced and the creation of some “new year, new me” style resolutions as we try to make the next 12 that bit better.
At the business level, you can take on the exact same approach. January is a great time for you as a business owner to take stock of the successes and failures of the past 12 months, transition your plans from last year to this year and work on goals for the year ahead.
Of course, you should always be planning ahead in business, but January time is the central point between this business year and last where you really have a chance to create a platform for success in the coming 12 months.
It’s awfully quiet
Outside of January being the first month of the year, one of the main reasons it’s a great time to make plans is because you’re almost certainly going to be going through one of the quietest periods, if not the quietest period, of your commercial year. And while the tills aren’t exactly ringing with sales, you can use this time to help your business in all sorts of areas.
You can direct your resources to other areas of the business like addressing your inventory – maybe you’re running a beauty business and need to restock on skin products and LED nail lamps – or looking into customer reward initiatives that offer buying incentives to your most loyal patrons.
In other words, even though you’d rather the shop front was seeing most of the action, you can use this relative down time to get your business ducks in order, so you’re fully prepared for busier periods.
A time to be proactive
There is also the option of looking to try and drive sales during the January lull. This is a great time of year to get on social media and try to raise brand awareness and encourage more engagement with your customer base. Beyond the aforementioned reward schemes, you can push out sales and special offers and tease customers with sneak peaks of future products and deals.
All of these ideals will gather excitement and interest around your brand, which should result in a few extra quid in the coffers compared to if you took a less proactive approach.
Is January the most important month in the business calendar? For sales – definitely not. But for planning and growth – absolutely. Don’t let the typical lull of the period trick you into taking your foot of the gas. Be proactive and take the time to build on your successes and failures of the previous year to give yourself the best possible footing heading into the meatier part of 2021.
