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When you run a business with a physical product, it’s always nice to when sales start to pick up because it shows that there really is a market for your business, however it can also be very stressful if you don’t know how to handle the sudden spike in demand that ensues.
Luckily, with a bit of forethought, it is possible to prepare for snd cope with an increase in demand from your products whenever it comes along…
Predict increases before they happen
Obviously, the best way to cope with san increase in demand for your products is to predict that increase before it happens. Of course, you don’t have a crystal ball at your disposal so this can e a bit more challenging than you should lie, but if you make an effort to really track your sales over time you should be able to see the patterns of when there is more demand, such as at Christmas-time, and when sales fall, which means you will be able to at least make a good guess about when demand is likely to apple.
Follow trends in your industry
Following industry trends is something you should do in addition to using your own data to predict spikes in your sales. When you always have an eye on the wider trends within your business niche, it is a lot easier to work out when people are more likely to buy certain products so you can make sure you are prepared.
How do you follow sales trends in your industry? Start by looking at the stats on annual product sales for your niche, then take a look at past news stories about special events and big sales that have moved a lot of products. Basically, you need to be monitoring any information that could give you a clue about the demand for your product.
Prepare ahead of PR events or product launches
If you are planning a new marketing campaign, then it is really important that you take the time to speak to your suppliers about getting some extra stock in, and that you talk to your delivery partners about a possible spike in sales because, of course, when you are really going on a PR kick, you are going to drum up more interest and, providing you do it right, this should almost certainly result in an increase in sales for your company.
Similarly, if you are just about to launch a new product, there is likely to be a lot of buzz about it and your customers will be eager to get a hold of the new items. That’s why you should ensure that you have adequately planned your stock levels and you sho9uld probably consider hiring a few temps to help you with logistics too.
Shore up your web hosting
An increase in demand for your products will almost certainly result in an increase in hits to your website. If you don’t have a good enough web hosting package to handle the increase in volume, your website could end up going down and you could lose those potential sales as a result.
So, if you think a spike in demand is likely to hit your business, before it happens, try to ensure that you have a good web hosting service that is able to handle high volumes. Depending on volume, this might mean you having your own server in place, which is obviously more expensive, but when you think about how much money it could cost you if your site goes down, you can easily see why it is worth it, and most hosts will let you reduce your package again once demand drops, so it doesn’t have to be an ongoing expense.
Get everything ready in advance
Before you even think about releasing a new product or launching a new marketing campaign, or well before Christmas rolls around, you should aim to do as much preparation as you can in advance. From sourcing a larger number of supplies to hiring more employees to upgrading your manufacturing equipment, anything you can do to make life easier for you before the spike hits is something that you should do because there is no point in letting people know about your products and services if you are not going to be able to provide them in high enough levels. Worst case scenario, should the predicted spike not happen, you will have a bit of an easier time of it as a business for a while, and when the spike does eventually come, you will know exactly what you have to do to prepare for it again
Use outside supply chain management services
When you have a sudden spike in demand, using an outside supply chain management service to handle the logiistics is often the smart choice because by the time you have recruited ore people to help you pick pack and deliver products you could already be getting well behind and leaving a trail of unsatisfied customers behind you. Good logistics companies will be able to step in immediately and help you do what needs to be done so that your company can fulfill orders in a timely manner, make more money and keep the customer completely satisfied, no matter how many additional products you may be selling.
Let your customers know
If you are experiencing an increase in demands for your products, even if you think you can manage it without a hitch, it is always a good idea to let your customers know what is going on. That way, they can make an informed decision about whether to order at that busy time and they are likely to be more understanding if they maybe do not receive their package as quickly as they would like.
Sure, it’d much easier to bury your head in the sand, but if you end up being unable to fulfill orders or doing so very much later than usual, you could end up alienating a lot of customers and turning them off your business forever,r which would obviously not be a good thing for your bottom line.
Monitor the situation
When a spike in demand hits, it’s really important that you monitor the situation from the amount of stock you have available to any complaints that your customers may be making It is only when you know exactly what is happening that you can put out fires and bring in new measures to ensure that your operation continues to run as smoothly as possible.
While you’re monitoring the situation, be sure to take notes too. By doing this, you can better prepare for the next spike and the next one and eventually an increase in demand will barely trouble for business at all, providing that is, that you learn from previous spikes and make an effort to do better next time.
Keep your cool
Last, but not least, try to keep calm and keep your head clear. It’s easy to panic when things ramp up, but if you do, you’ll probably make some poor decisions along the way, which will just make things worse, so remember you’ve got this and put your plan into action.
Oping with an increase in demand for your products is often very challenging, but if you are able to anticipate it, and if you put the above actions into place, it should be at least a little bit easier for you to deal with, so do your best to start preparing for it right now.
