eBusiness Weekly
Joseline Sithole
There are so many things that I miss from my childhood. The wild abandon and innocence of childhood. Back then simple things mattered. We did not have complicated video games for play, but being rolled inside a big tractor tyre right into a ditch and getting out there dizzy and quickly joining the queue again brought it with satisfaction and euphoria of its own kind. And yeh! Eating my lunch on the roof of our house. I shudder to think these days on how I climbed up there. But most of all I miss Christmas, the way we did it back then.
I miss those Christmas cards, which came through the mail. I know this year I will have hundreds of memes wishing a merry Christmas. It’s not like holding that beautiful card lovingly send from somewhere in the country and overseas and those warm Christmas wishes. I miss those Christmas displays and Christmas trees. Everybody smiled during Christmas, and neighbours shared kindness and warm wishes. BC Forbes captures the true sentimentality of Christmas by observing that ”Christmas is a tonic, which moves us to think of others rather than ourselves. It directs out thoughts to giving.”
You see during Christmas you got to go to town. If you were lucky you got to sit in a restaurant and eat a take away. But most importantly that’s the only time you got new clothes and shoes (That is if your school results were positive). It’s the only time you were guaranteed of eating rice and chicken dowsed in lots of tomato sauce. Bread was not rationed on this day and it came with lots of Sun jam. I do not propose to go back the way we used to be but all those from my generation will agree Christmas was family and everybody enjoyed Christmas.
But today a look around town tells a dreary, gloomy different story of hopelessness and negativity in contrast to our friends down South and in the developed world, where all turkeys are going into hiding or the Christmas trees are praying for a less painful death. Despite the fact that Christmas season is a big cash cow, Zimbabwe has forgotten the big Christmas spirit. How then can MSMEs capture the true spirit of Christmas and in the same breadth increase their sales volumes during this period?
In the United States according to the National Retail Federation 20 to 40 percent of yearly sales for small and mid-sized retail businesses occur in the last two months of the New Year. How can MSMEs then increase sales during this period?
According to Deloitte’s research, retail sales during this season are set to reach $1,1 trillion between November and January. The same survey also notes that, Ecommerce Sales are supposed to reach 149 billion in sales. However, in Zimbabwe, retail sales during the Christmas period are not looking so good. According to the Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) as reported in the Chronicle of 07 December 2019, the rise in the cost of living has drastically affected Consumer Spending power a bit.
Offer Christmas related services
Gift wrapping services are popular with Christmas shoppers. Some shops might offer gift wrapping services for free while others may charge a small fee. Gift wrapping services are a very good way to retain customers as well. Be sure to let potential customers and your loyal customers know that you are offering those services. In the same breadth shops can also offer gift wrapping paraphernalia such as elegant boxes, wrapping paper and ribbons for those who want to warp the presents on their own. Small Medium Enterprises who are into stationery, cosmetics, clothing, jewellery, arts and crafts, toys and companies that make corporate gifts are sure to make good returns from this service.
Target children activities
One of the cutest pictures of my daughter is when she had a photo taken with Santa. Children are draw cards to shops that are offering fun services. Having a Santa Claus in your shop is one way of ensuring that parents drop whatever they are doing and bring their children in your shop. Having a clown dressed in Santa clothes is yet another one. If space permits you can also squeeze in a jumping castle in there and have someone paint their noses. While they are enjoying their activities the parents can also browse through the shops and hopefully buy something. If your SME is housed in a complex a request can be made to the owner to place these activities in an accessible area of the complex.
Have a fabulous window display
Window Displays are an effective way of advertising your shop in a “Christmassy way”. If you are not very clued up on doing it, it’s always good to hire an expert. Red and Green are popular colours for displays and should be used with abandon. Your staff can also wear branded material such as t-shirts branded with Christmas wishes or Santa hats. However, one should ensure that your staff are comfortable enough to still carry out their duties wearing the branded material.
Christmas sales and discounts
After Black Friday shops might be wary of offering more discounts. But the Christmas period is a good time to offer sales. This can be done to selected items or to items in the whole shop catalogue.
Leveraging on online shopping
Zimbabwean shoppers are slowly using online shopping as a convenient way of bargain hunting. Though Platforms such as Amazon, Alibaba are the more common ones, there are also many Zimbabwean based Facebook pages where one can market their products. This type of Christmas shopping is particularly good for the arts and crafts industry, the jewellery industry, customised bags and just some gift things. I believe Zimbabweans can push proudly Zimbabwean inspired platforms through these platforms.
Being visible at events and functions
During this period there are many events and many parties that will be taking place in and around cities. Depending on the type of events that is there SMEs can sponsor particular segments such providing braai meeting if you are in the meat producing business. I am hoping that the events value chain is pushing sales during this season. It might also be a great idea to have brand ambassadors during these events to advertise your business and products.
Spread some good cheer through corporate social responsibility
Right now Zimbabweans are seriously lacking a Christmas spirit. A giant Christmas tree in the middle of town such as the one in Harare CBD can do a lot to cheer up the population as well. In the same breadth SMEs can activate their corporate social responsibility through distributing goodies to orphans, children homes old people’s homes. Persons living with disabilities and others and other disadvantaged groups. CSR will assist in increasing visibility.
Be grateful to gain loyalty
It is important to thank your Customers who have supported you through this journey. Invest in sending your customers thank you notes or through social media. For your top 10 customers it might be prudent to send them Christmas Cards or real presents so that you might retain their loyalty within the next year.
Throw a Christmas party for your employees
Gratitude extends to those people who have stood by you and faithfully served you during the Christmas period. It is an absolute must that you throw a party for your employees and encourage them to exchange gifts with each other. In that way you slowly gain employee loyalty and you might be ensured of cutting out your recruitment bill for the next year.
Invest in a Christmas related business
Perhaps it’s high time you built your business empire. Those who are into livestock production can digress a little bit and start producing turkeys for Christmas. In addition growing Christmas trees can not only boost the environment but can also provide aesthetic value to your house provided they are replaced. According to North State Journal $2 billion was spent purchasing around 32.8 million trees. Germany is the biggest exporter of fresh Christmas trees.
In conclusion planning to increase sales volumes also needs a fool proof strategic plan that is backed up by data and trends and market intelligence. To all Zimbabweans do try and serve a little cheer this season. Remember “He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree” Roy Smith.
Joseline Sithole is the Founder of Southern Africa Development Consultants. You can email comments to [email protected]
