.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} ‘Twas the night before Christmas … and all the stores were closed. Why? They needed a few hours to get ready for the AFTER Christmas sale. All of the retail elves were home with the rest of us, anticipating the festival of unwrapping and judging the value and likability (return-ability) of presents received.

The holiday season is a make-or-break time for most retailers and many other businesses.

Is it my imagination, or is the Christmas “season” expanding? Remember when there was the excitement that the shopping season officially began the day after Thanksgiving – unofficially known as “Black Friday.”

The day AFTER Thanksgiving, stores opening at 8 a.m. – then 7 a.m. – then 6 a.m. – then 5 a.m. – then midnight. Trying to lure customers with their “pre-Christmas” sale. Then, based on social pressures, most changed to “pre-holiday” extravaganzas.

EARLY-WARNING SIGNAL: I’m sure you’ve noticed that there are now Christmas items among the Halloween candies. In the drugstores, the grocery stores and even the department stores. Merchants are trying to remind you and sell you whatever they can before the competition does.

Even online, companies like Amazon.com had their seasonal art on landing pages by Halloween. Boo! (That wasn’t to scare you. That was the Philadelphia boo. The voice of disapproval. The “What were you thinking?” boo.)

I don’t know about you, but I believe business greed is stepping over the line by introducing the spirit of the holiday season before candy is handed to little ghosts and goblins, or before families gather to give thanks. Seems as though businesses are willing to risk ridicule and reputation for a chance to ring their cash register.

Though none of this is really a big deal, be aware that when some retailer wanting to jump the gun tries to pull off Christmas in October – or earlier – it generates thoughts in the mind of the consumer, none of them positive. And those thoughts lead to perceptions and buying decisions.

If I’m put off by or angry at your early entry into the Christmas season, I may not return to buy when the actual season starts.

And then there are those who try to put down the competition in a subtle way. I saw a sign in the window of a major department store that startled me. It said that they like to celebrate one holiday at a time, and that they would not put up Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving.

GREAT – but, uh, why are they telling me that? Why don’t they just DO IT?

My concept of what will win is to go back a decade, look at what won then, add the Internet and e-mail messaging, create an inventory of WHAT PEOPLE WANT – not just what you can buy cheap and are looking to sell at a great margin – and let one customer tell another customer how great your merchandise is.

One more thing: HIRE GREAT PEOPLE – people who smile, love to serve, can multitask, can go the extra mile and who have a base intelligence that is smarter than the merchandise.

This will require that you pay them more, train them more and provide a work atmosphere that both employees AND customers love.

Hey, Mr. Retailer, you’re the one who created the purchasing part of these holidays in the first place.

My vote is to give thanks for what you have at Thanksgiving, and THEN sell like hell the day after until 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

If you want the holiday recipe for success, take the formula above and add spirit. If you do, the jingle bells you’ll hear will be the cha-ching! of the cash register.

If you’re looking for a couple of holiday greetings for your business or storefront to make your customers happy or ready to buy, go to www.gitomer.com, register if you’re a first-time visitor, and enter the word GREETING in the GitBit box.

Jeffrey Gitomer can be reached by phone at (704) 333-1112 or by e-mail at salesman@gitomer.com. © 2007 Jeffrey H. Gitomer