As the hustle of the regular ice cream season winds down, the end of the year brings a golden opportunity to reflect, recharge, and prepare for the year ahead. Whether your shop is fully closed or quieter during the off-season, now is the perfect time to focus on growing your business, improving operations, and setting yourself up for a successful reopening. Let’s explore how you can make the most of this downtime!
The end of the year can be an exhausting time for frozen dessert business owners. However, it is also crucial to view this period as an opportunity for evaluation and improvement and to set the stage for a successful next season. Let's look at some things we can do with our slow season.
Business Evaluation and Investment
Review Your Profit and Loss Statement. Focus on food and labor cost first. Are you spending on these more than you should? Ideally, Food costs range from 20% to 30%, while labor costs can vary significantly depending on the business model. What can you source better? Where can you create more profit centers? Learn how to view your P&L statement as a business guide not just as a financial statement.
Analyze The Data
Identify your most profitable products, most popular sizes, and any areas where you can improve. Identify what aspects of your business worked well, what needs improvement, and what should be eliminated. Apply this assessment to products, processes, and personnel. Use this information to adjust your menu, pricing, and marketing strategies, plus help streamline operations and boost profitability.
Invest In The Business
Consider investing in equipment upgrades. New equipment can enhance efficiency, expand offerings, and ultimately lead to increased revenue and profits. Consider the return on investment when considering new purchases, focusing on the potential for increased revenue. The keyword here is invest. Not spend. Don't think, about what it will cost you, but what it will make you.
Establish A Budget
Establish a detailed budget for the upcoming season. This proactive step prevents overspending and ensures financial stability. You want to invest in your business but you don't want to go overboard with any changes you can't afford.
Promotional Strategies
Embrace Seasonal Flavors
As the weather cools down, people's tastes start to change. To stay relevant, start offering winter-themed specials and flavors. Pumpkin, spices, and lattes are all popular fall flavors you can incorporate into your menu. During the winter holiday, people's flavor preferences change again, you can offer flavors like peppermint bark ice cream or gingerbread cookie ice cream.
Organize Themed Events
Host themed events at your shop, partner with farms, holiday train operators, or other seasonal ventures that can help expand your reach and attract new customers. Collaborate with local businesses and or the community to leverage seasonal festivities.
Engage In The Community
Go beyond social media and establish a physical presence in the community to attract new customers. Get involved with local organizations and youth programs to market your business. Local sports clubs and organizations offer a great foot in the door.
Specials and Promotions
Run specials or product promotions. Consider an end-of-year blowout to clear inventory, generate goodwill, and create buzz for the next season. Time your promotions, and align product offerings with customer demand throughout the year.
Create A Marketing Calendar
A marketing calendar is a great tool to have to help you stay on task through the season ahead. It's best to do this in the downtime when your mind is fresh and less likely to forget things. Brainstorm and put all you can in there, promotions, co-opportunities, social media, and products. Remember, timing is very important.
Team Appreciation and Motivation
Gratitude
Express gratitude to your staff for their hard work and dedication. Recognize their contributions to the business's success
Team Building
Conduct team-building activities and provide individual feedback. This fosters a positive work environment and helps retain talent.
Communicate
Hold formal meetings with employees to discuss their plans, gather feedback, and encourage open communication.
Transparency
Practice transparency and demonstrate appreciation for their efforts.
Additional Suggestions
Adjust Your Hours
As sales start to slow down in the fall, you should adjust your hours accordingly. This will help you save money on labor costs and avoid burnout. You can look at your sales data from previous years to determine the best times to be open.
Review Your Menu
Use your sales data to see which menu items were the most popular and which ones weren't. Consider adding new flavors and combinations that are in demand This is also a good time to experiment with new flavors and get customer feedback.
Continue Your Marketing Efforts
Even though your shop may be closed for the off-season, you should continue your marketing efforts. This could include working on email campaigns, asking for customer reviews, and creating content for the new season. You can also start planning your advertising campaigns for the next year. Develop a marketing calendar, outlining promotions, co-ops, social media campaigns, and new product launches
Stay Active on Social Media
Social media is a great way to stay in touch with your customers during the off-season. You can use social media to announce upcoming events, share new menu items, and run contests. By staying active on social media, you'll keep your business top-of-mind for customers when they're ready to start buying ice cream again.
Invest in Your Website
Your website is an important marketing tool, so make sure it's up-to-date and easy to use. Make sure your website is optimized for search engines so that potential customers can easily find you online. What about online ordering? Would it be beneficial for you to incorporate online ordering on your website?
By following these tips, you can make the most of the end of the year and set your ice cream shop up for success in the next season. To learn more and hear more about this topic, watch Angelo and Rob discuss the topic this Sentry Short: How To Make the Most Of The New Year.