May 30-Jun. 5
STAFF Think about whether you’re going to need temporary help this summer. Make sure all the positions have written job descriptions. No position, not even part-time, should be treated as ad hoc.
MARKETING Optimize your social media channels for online sales. In your Facebook ad manager account, upload buzz-worthy products to an online catalog. Then link them to your Instagram account. That way, shoppers can click on a product shown on Instagram and quickly be converted to your website to buy the item. You should also enable purchases directly via Facebook, advises Cody Giles of the Smithee Group.
Jun. 6-12
MARKETING Do a mail-out to remind customers about your summer services. Check that you have the supplies you need to support them.
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Jun. 13-19
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Parade season is around the corner: Time to dust off your store mascot suit to join in on the July 4th festivities. You’ll be spreading a message of fun, community involvement and pet care.
SELF-DEVELOPMENT Seek out something truly novel to do this summer: Your brain loves new experiences and sensations, which help it continue to build neural connections for work and life.
Jun. 20-26
INVENTORY It’s time for some analysis. What’s happening with markdowns by department and category? Are they increasing because of inventories backing up, or perhaps as a result of you being locked into an ever-increasing pattern of promotions? Find the answer and make adjustments.
Jun. 27-Jul. 3
OPERATIONS Let’s get organized. Discard one item for every year you’ve had your store — documents you know you’re never going to read or need, items gathering dust, old plastic goods…
FURNISHINGS Need new office furniture? Now is the time to pick it up; showrooms are making room for new lines coming out in August.
Jul. 4-10
OPERATIONS You should have this already, a file documenting employee performance throughout the year. Actually, you should be tipping your workers off as to how they’ll fare in annual reviews. Not only does it keep everything moving along smoothly, but you also avoid showdowns where employees get defensive. This is also a good time to plot your compensation plans.
Jul. 11-17
ONLINE To stay relevant, refresh your website every two years and fine-tune it every six months. That six months is up. New customers will visit your store ONLY if they like your website and think it looks modern. Does your site have simple lines, motion, huge photos and prices? If not, get busy.
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Jul. 18-24
MANAGEMENT Summer is a time for fun, sun and strategy. To help you, ponder this question from Jonathan L. Byrnes, author and senior lecturer at MIT: Do we have bad profits? “Some investments look attractive, but they also take the company’s capital and focus away from its main line of business.”
Jul. 25-31
IN-STORE Review your store’s traffic patterns. Ask friends to walk through the store taking photos with their smartphones of anything that catches their eye. These shots will identify points of attraction and of dead space, and show you how people move within your store. With this visual data in hand, you can then adjust to make sure your most profitable products get the attention they deserve.