This seasonal spike in consumer activity is both an opportunity and a challenge for small businesses, with some relying on the holiday season to account for 30 percent of annual sales. Furthermore, within each of those functions, which brands do business owners trust to help them run their business? According to a recent study by my company, Alignable, small businesses rely on the following brands for their hiring needs: Indeed LinkedIn ZipRecruiter Payments As a business owner, your payments strategy matters, substantially. In addition, according to Constant Contact, the ROI on email marketing is 38:1. It's seasonal, too; email marketing is responsible for as much as 25 percent of holiday sales according to a recent report from WebsiteSetup.org. The last statistic to consider here is that 75 percent of consumers made an impulse buy during the holiday season last year. The most trusted brands for small-business owners in email marketing are: MailChimp Constant Contact GetResponse / AWeber (tied) Website management Over 40 percent of holiday shopping is done in November, and 51 percent of that shopping is done online, which means your website has to be perfect. The most trusted brands for small-business owners in website management are: WordPress 1&1 GoDaddy Ecommerce Sometimes it's the little things that add up, especially when it comes to ecommerce during the holiday season. The most trusted brands for small-business owners in shipping services are: FedEx What is it that makes these brands so trusted compared to their competitors?
Six hundred fifty-eight billion dollars. That’s how much consumers spent during the 2016 holiday season, up 4 percent from 2015, according to the National Retail Federation. Deloitte is forecasting the 2017 holiday season to surpass $1 trillion in spending between November and January, with $114 billion coming from ecommerce. In addition, the average consumer will spend $728 on gifts this holiday season, meaning the stakes are high for each customer businesses can convert.
This seasonal spike in consumer activity is both an opportunity and a challenge for small businesses, with some relying on the holiday season to account for 30 percent of annual sales. Naturally, the increase in activity will produce a much welcomed increase in sales, but will also put a strain on business owners to keep up with the increased operational needs.
So what are the operational areas small-business owners rely on most during the holiday season? Furthermore, within each of those functions, which brands do business owners trust to help them run their business?
Hiring
Hiring is already challenging for business owners, and hiring seasonal help can be even more difficult. Why? Seasonal workers are in demand. Consider a few of the big brands and their hiring forecast for this holiday season:
- Target: Hiring 100,000 seasonal workers
- Macy’s: Hiring 80,000 seasonal workers
- FedEx: Hiring 50,000 seasonal workers
- UPS: Hiring 95,000 seasonal workers
So, where will business owners turn? According to a recent study by my company, Alignable, small businesses rely on the following brands for their hiring needs:
- Indeed
- ZipRecruiter
Payments
As a business owner, your payments strategy matters, substantially. In fact, 82 percent of failed businesses cite cash flow problems as the primary reason for closure, and your payments strategy can often determine your cash flow. One interesting statistic from Intuit is the fact that 55 percent of small-business owners still don’t accept credit cards. That’s unfortunate, considering 66 percent of point-of-sale transactions are done with credit, debit or gift cards, while 2017 predictions cite cash payments representing as little as 23 percent by the end of the year. Almost every major credit card company (Discover, AMEX, Chase, Citi, Visa, Capital One) will be offering consumers cash back programs as we head into the holiday season, so consumers will be looking to use their plastic.
While the most trusted payments brands are listed below and can be up and running quite quickly, make sure to compare what each brand charges and read the fine print to make sure you select the best option for you. In addition, there can be waiting periods for money to be transferred to you for…
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