Christmas in October

October is here. And you know what that means…. Christmas! Well, not exactly, but if you’re a small business owner, cooler temperatures and rusting foliage should be alerting you to prepare for the shopping frenzy known as the holiday season. It’s time to take stock of your label supply and ensure you’re ready to handle the extra demand for your products because you do not want to run out before Christmas! Or wait until the last minute to order sticker stock for holiday craft fairs, local events, promotional features or increased orders from customers, distributors or purchasers.

Now is the time to place a label order for all your popular offerings and an ideal moment to add that new, holiday-specific variety you’ve been concocting. Clove-scented candle? Christmas coffee blend? Cinnamon body scrub? Holiday doggie treats? Combine your different versions to save expense and order them all at once. The most cost-effective way to do this is to design your labels at the same size and shape so multiple versions can be combined for quantity discounts. Uniform sizing also lends itself to overall brand and packaging consistency. Of course, this works for some industries and is more challenging for others, such as health and beauty. Different products like creams, serums or scrubs are more suited to different sized vessels for packaging, but if you put some thought into it, perhaps you can adjust a few label sizes so they be ganged for ordering.

If you do a lot of shipping during the holidays, you might consider adding custom printed tape to your packaging repertoire. Printed tape is great way to enhance your company’s visibility through the shipping channels and remind customers where they got their goods from! There may be applications beyond just sealing shipping boxes for your printed tape as well, perhaps you can use it to create a greeting card or something. Printed tape is cost-effective alternative to preprinted boxes and has the potential to grow your business!

The bottom line is preparing early for the holiday season will save you money in the long run. You can avoid rush fees, expensive overnight shipping costs, not to mention stressful deadlines and the panic that ensues if an unexpected delay occurs. Have your products organized, labeled and ready to fly off the shelves, so you can enjoy a hot toddy during the festive sales.