Behind the Magic Curtain - Episode 2 - Preparing for Arrival

Welcome back for episode 2 of our behind-the-scenes story of how our shop works. In episode 1, we went to the market, where we picked out all the ornaments and decorations for the next Christmas season. You can get caught up here if you haven't read that episode. Now let's get to what comes next.

Why is Saying Goodbye so Hard?
While the market days are exciting and exhausting, they set up all the work for the rest of the year. The first thing we have to take care of is closing out finances for the previous holiday season by the end of January. Next, we cleaned up the warehouse, took inventory, and reviewed how our year went. Inventory is a massive event where we open every carton and record how many items are inside. We then compare what we counted to what our online store says we have and make any needed corrections. This process takes several long days to complete.

     

Our annual review helps us determine where we need to make improvements, what worked well, and where we need a significant overhaul. This process also allows us to make course adjustments if we have strayed too far from our business goals. Here are some of the things that came up in this years' review:
• All of the new website upgrades worked well and made the operation of the business easier.
• New ornament boxes and paper shipping tape helped our branding stand out better.
• Sales were consistent throughout the season. They also started earlier and ran later than the previous years.
• The new return center was not utilized by customers properly. Customers were not sure how to start the return/exchange process. Make adjustments to the policy page and location of the return center link for clarity and ease of use.
• The website's speed has slowed due to so many images—research ways to resolve the speed issue and allow more media on the site in the coming year.
• Customer service was too slow during the busiest part of the season. Review procedures and determine the best course of action.
After the review, we have decided to make significant changes to our business. These changes allow us to address some of the issues that we feel hurt our sales. Other changes will address several things we intended to do, but we haven't had time to do them. The last category of changes stems from being an online business and how search algorithms work. Social media is part of that, and if you followed along this year, you know that we started off doing ok, and then it all just tanked. We have already started working on social media, and this set of stories is a part of that new focus. If you are excited about changes and expect a list of what will happen, you will have to wait. Follow us on social media to be the first to know when new things happen. (See, we are learning how to do this)

Out with the Old and in with the New
We have our game plan set, started posting regularly on social media, ordered our new products, and now we can rest. Nope, not happening. We have to prepare for the items that arrive in the summer and fall. Remember Sam Snowman? He's your guide for this adventure. Let's build his product file for the website.
1. Download the photo of Sam Snowman
2. Make edits to the picture if needed. Upload image to the website.
3. Open website products file and start a new item.
4. Fill in all the information about Sam, including name, description, price, SKU, UPC, inventory amount, vendor, etc.
5. Choose which storefronts can sell Sam.
6. Add tags that help the website classify and sort Sam.
7. Set Sam's product file to Draft, so it does not appear on the website yet.
Not too hard to do, just a little time-consuming. Oh wait, we have to do that an additional 100 times to get the work done. There has to be one file per item that we sell. So the best approach is to do a few every week to make the workload feel lighter.

As we work on the files, we get ready for the new products by reviewing their size and vendor. We are looking for any issues that may impede the receiving and packaging process. We make sure we have room on the shelves and branded boxes big enough to hold the ornaments. After resolving any issues, we are ready to receive our new merchandise. Sam Snowman has a place to stay until he finds a forever home with one of our friends out there in the world.

Spring is also the time of year that we order branded items like stickers because they take longer to arrive. This time of year is also excellent for making items used as part of creative content on the website or social media. Creative content includes images, videos, tutorials, blog posts, etc.

     

Just a Little Spring Cleaning
While the early part of the year is primarily routine work, it is the part of the job that makes everything else go smoothly. Therefore, being prepared is an integral part of being successful. In addition, we find that breaking the tasks into smaller groups helps keep you going steadily forward. Spring cleaning is a tried and true tradition that enables you to get ready for what comes next.

Behind the Magic Curtain - Episode 3 - Let the Mayhem Begin
Join us for our next installment when we start receiving products and updating the website.