By Rebeca Seitz
Have you heard about or experienced issues caused by the supply chain disruption with China? While several factors are involved, two big ones include the backup at the Los Angeles port and the way China distributes electricity.
The first problem – a backed up port in Los Angeles – is being alleviated by unions agreeing to round-the-clock working hours. That port is humming now!
However, the second problem is here to stay unless China does something differently. China is a communist country and part of its control extends to how much electricity can be used by different parts of the country. But the pandemic crashed into China’s electricity plan. Now they’ve got manufacturers who need to be working like mad to prep for the holiday rush but cannot because the lack of access to electricity either forced them into closure or renders them unable to keep full production hours.
Ah, global commerce. Ain’t it grand?
But you’re a business owner which means when you see lemons you grab some sugar and get to stirring.
So, take stock NOW. What can you do with what you have on hand to meet the coming holiday buying rush? Can anything be re-purposed and marketed toward a Christmas crowd?
Once you have a handle on your actual offerings, go ahead and take total advantage of the opportunity created by China. See, if you’ve got stuff in stock, then you have something to offer holiday buyers that the big guys won’t: inventory.
Consider a social media campaign with a message of, “Buy your presents now, while we’ve got it in stock!” Fire up the old email database and message your customers with something like, “We want to make sure our customers get first dibs on what’s available!”
If you don’t have a lot of inventory in-house, then think about the intangibles you could offer customers that are still on-brand. For instance, if you’re a health and beauty products store without health and beauty products, maybe you could sell 1/1 private consultations or small group parties where you provide target-audience-specific instruction (e.g. how to use the make-up that’s already in your drawer). Emphasize the knowledge and/or technique that would be sold, rather than the actual product.
Whether you have inventory or not, the disruption in the supply chain is a red alert opportunity to personalize your red and green holiday sales pitch. Don’t miss it!