The Christmas period is the perfect time to sell your products, especially if you plan on releasing new lines or you have unique items.
If you’re wondering how to prep your craft business for Christmas, we’ve got you covered. From small businesses, to Christmas craft experts, we can provide you with the insurance you need to sell this festive period.
How do small businesses prepare for Christmas?
Christmas can be an overwhelming time of the year for small businesses, so it’s a good idea to create a plan for yourself in order to get yourself prepped.
Here are our top tips:
- Check your inventory: It’s vital you check your inventory as early as possible to ensure you have enough to accommodate the potential influx of orders.
- Establish a schedule: During Christmas, you can expect to see a change in working hours with delivery services. You should establish with your customers specific dates they need to order by so that they have guaranteed delivery for Christmas.
- Plan your marketing: Whether you make gift guides, partner with other small businesses or run paid ads, the amount of marketing techniques you can use is endless. Regardless of whether you have new products or not, now is the time to amp up your marketing.
- Check your insurance: Before you add your new products to your Christmas launch, make sure your craft insurance covers them. All you need to do is quickly check with your insurer so you don’t end up landing in hot water.
What can craft businesses do for Christmas?
There are a wide variety of different products that craft businesses can make this Christmas. Whether you decide on making a new line of products, or want to revamp some old ones, there will always be shoppers out there interested in your products.
Some Christmas products you could make include:
- Christmas decorations
- Holiday sets
- Christmas hampers
- Stocking fillers
You could sell these products online or at craft fairs, but make sure you target your audience in the correct way.
Read our guide on what to sell at a Christmas craft fair to find out more.
Preparing your business for the festive season
While getting your business ready for the festive season, it is imperative that you make sure you have the right level of protection for the products you plan on selling.
At CraftCover, we provide tailor made insurance policies to suit your business’s specific needs. The two main types of insurance that you will need, included in our comprehensive policy, are:
Public Liability Insurance
Public liability insurance covers you and your business from compensation costs due to injury of the public as a result of your business operations. These expenses can be significant and could exceed what most small businesses can afford, especially at christmas.
The main risks that are covered by this insurance include death and disablement of the public and loss or damage to third party property.
Product Liability Insurance
Product liability insurance will cover your products in production, supply and sale. If any issues arise as a direct result of your products or processes, you will be covered should any unwanted legal or personal costs arise.
If you are planning on selling your products at Christmas fairs, we can also include craft fair insurance in your policy.
Many fair organisers will require proof of insurance before they allow you to start selling your products, so it’s best to get insured before you plan which fairs you’d like to attend.
Top tips for managing a craft business at Christmas
We have already outlined some of our top tips on preparing for Christmas, but there are also a few steps you can take to manage your craft business and keep on top of your sales.
Keep an eye on your stock
If certain items appear to be more popular than others, it’s a good idea to restock as and when you can during the lead up to Christmas.
You will thank yourself later when you are working on orders or receive last minute requests.
Maintain customer relationships
It’s tempting when you are busy to just solely concentrate on getting your products out there. However, it is just as important to remain visible on social media and interact with your audience in order to keep the interest going.
You can also show your appreciation to customers by sending out discount codes, or even personalised items such as handwritten thank you cards with each order.
Create a deadline
We briefly touched on this before, but you should be creating last order deadlines to ensure your customers receive their products before Christmas. However, the deadlines aren’t just for your customers, you should dedicate them for yourself too.
For example, you could use the last day of postage before Christmas and then give yourself a few days before that date so you know any orders you have will be sent out in time.
Make sure you have insurance
If you don’t have insurance in place, you may be putting your business at risk. The festive period is often the busiest time of year for crafters, and the more products you sell, the more at-risk you are of a customer having an issue with a product. Having craft insurance will give you the peace of mind you need.