How to maximize your Labor Day retail sales and build brand recognition.

Labor Day signifies an important gateway between the free and easy vibe of summer and a return to regular school and work routines. It even represents that first whiff of the busy holiday season that is only a few months away. As a retailer, it’s important to make the most of these important transitional days so that you can enhance your sales and spread the word about your brand to both existing and new customers.

Solidify your goals ahead of time.

When you and your team create a clear road map for your Labor Day marketing initiative, everyone will be on the same page. As a result, you will have a better chance of achieving your intentions. Take the following steps to create your plan.

• Decide on a realistic amount of revenue that you will earn over the holiday.
• Involve your staff, particularly sales associates.
• Come up with a strategy for tracking your progress.

If you’re not already using the reporting features that come packed into the point of sale system provided by your payment processing for boutiques company, this is the perfect opportunity to start. It can help you to generate documents that will enable you to use last year’s sales history and employee productivity statistics to make smart, actionable predictions for this year. Armed with these, you will be able to order the inventory people want and have enough sales associates available to provide the best possible customer service.

Cash in by jumping on back-to-school demand.

Whether it’s kindergarten or college, many people will be going back to the classroom right around Labor Day, and they will need everything from supplies and electronics to clothing and accessories. Regardless of what products you sell, you will probably be able to tie some or all of them in with this highly commercial time of year. Do so by doing the following.

• Demonstrate with displays, audio, and video social media content and blogs how your products are a perfect fit for back to school.
• Shape your marketing campaign to gel with the latest trends.
• Offer exclusive, time-sensitive discounts.
• Involve children in your advertising campaigns.
• Use contests and giveaways to encourage in-store and electronic traffic.
• Partner with influencers to get the word out about your brand and the merchandise you sell.

No matter what you are marketing, bring the point home to your customers that innovation and change are a hallmark of the fall season and that you have just what people need to spice up their lives.

Link your products to the reason for celebrating Labor Day.

This holiday commemorates the accomplishments of American workers. With some creativity, you can connect what you sell to this theme. To that end, consider the following ideas.

• Highlight compelling stories about your staff and their work-related accomplishments.
• Create content showing how your signature product is made.
• Run discounts and giveaways on your social media pages that tie into the significance of Labor Day.

To enhance sales even more, be sure that your brand messaging is consistent across all channels.

Elevate the quality of the in-store shopping experience.

Compelling store displays are how in-person customers become captivated by and interact with your products. Therefore, it is important to create multidimensional exhibits that grab the eye and draw people in. If you provide a focal point, shoppers will direct their interest right where you want it to be. This is particularly true when the displays are clutter-free and orderly. Making the checkout experience fast, smooth, and secure also helps you to optimize your retail operations.

Make your store visible during searches.

With every passing year, more people are choosing where to shop based on online searches. That’s why it’s so important to do all you can to elevate your store to the top of the local business rankings. To that end, create business listings on sites such as Facebook, Google, and Yelp. Entries should include the following. 

• Name, address, and contact details.
• Updated hours of operation.
• Any deals or discounts you are offering.
• Pictures of your store and the products you sell.
• Customer reviews and testimonials.
• Videos and live broadcasts as the sale is occurring are also great ways to attract visitors and spur people to buy.

Take steps to integrate customers into your brand for the long haul.

It’s one thing to make a sale and send someone on their way, never to be heard from again. It’s quite another to take proactive steps to encourage ongoing brand loyalty. Since it takes much more energy and resources to recruit a new customer than it does to keep an existing one, make it a point to foster longevity by staying in touch with shoppers long after their purchase. Solicit their opinions and reviews, woo them back to your store or website with fun contests, and incentivize them to refer friends and family. When you do your part to show shoppers that they are vital ambassadors of your brand, they will respond by buying more and telling others about what you are offering.

It's easy to overlook Labor Day altogether as you plan ahead for the lucrative winter holiday season. However, you will deprive yourself of numerous opportunities to enhance your brand and boost sales if you ignore this crucial time of year. Take action now to make the most of late August and early September, and your hard work will be rewarded with Labor Day success.