Four Ways to Prepare Your Business for Vacation
Plan Your Content
This is something that I have not always been good about doing. I have always loved a good post-on-the-fly moment, but as my business grows, so does the planning and prep. This is one thing that I have truly started focusing on over the past few months, and it helps me tremendously to know what is coming up, pre-determine the things that I will post, etc.
Automate and Schedule Your Posts
Simple tasks like creating the Instagram post and scheduling it for launch, writing the email and scheduling it to send. Shoot, even writing this blog post in advance and scheduling the draft for publication - all of these things help keep your business running while you take a minute to step away! This shouldn’t be considered an insincere way of interacting with your customers or clients, but more so an opportunity to plan ahead so that you will have more time to interact one-on-one with them, rather that being pre-occupied with planning and posting all the things.
Be Present When You Can
Take the opportunity to also connect with your audience by being present and in the moment. It’s important to let them know that you are a human, for them to see a little behind-the-scenes, etc. Remember to take the time to relax and disconnect often, but share a glimpse into your day from time-to-time, as well.
Let Shoppers Know You’re Away
If you have an online shop or a place where customers can make purchases that depend on you to fulfill things, be sure to let them know that you are away for a little while. For example, customers will still have the option to make purchases while I am away from the office, however, I want to be transparent with them that items will not be shipping right away. Make sure that you make this known through your display banner, a pop-up on the website, on your social media channels, etc. And remember to ship those items ASAP upon return and update any shipping delay notifications you might have set.