Business Finance Solutions to Prepare You for Q4

Spring has just sprung, which means that it’s time to put on the Boney M. Christmas album and light the Hanukiah. We’re only half kidding – it’s never too early to prepare for the last quarter of the year, especially as this is often the busiest time of year for businesses from diverse industries. Holiday season standouts like Black Friday and Cyber Monday can represent lucrative shopping days, but competition for consumers is fierce. Putting the right business finance solutions in place can give your company a much-needed edge. 

That’s why laying the foundations for a successful Q4 should begin now. This includes creating a year-end marketing plan, conducting a Spring clean of the business, with a thorough inspection of the business finances, as well as an assessment of which goals have yet to be achieved before the year is out. 

Overwhelmed? Fear not. Bridgement is here to give you the tools you need to refresh your strategies, replenish your resources, and finish 2023 with a bang (not a whimper). 

Four business finance solutions to prepare for Q4

1. Create a holiday marketing plan 

The year-end holiday season is one of the most lucrative times for businesses in industries like retail and hospitality, but relying on the festive spirit alone is not an effective marketing strategy. The best way to capture a purchase-hungry market is to design a marketing campaign that engages current customers and appeals to potential ones. 

The first step in designing a campaign that resonates with your target audience is to choose your campaign goals. Is the purpose of the campaign to generate leads or revenue, or to drive conversion or awareness? Decide what you want the objective of the campaign to be before you start planning out the details.  

Next, define your target audience and create buyer personas to understand their needs and preferences. You can engage them right off the bat with an offer that is relevant and valuable to these predefined needs. Running special offers also allows you to build an email database that connects you to interested prospects all year long. 

Finally, indulge in some good ‘old-fashioned’ digital marketing – schedule ads, email campaigns, and social media posts to engage current and prospective customers. Update your website with a landing page that is optimised for conversion and provides a clear call to action. Don’t forget to measure your results and adjust the campaign accordingly. 

2. Realign your team with the business’s goals 

What were those New Year’s resolutions again? Time to haul them out of whichever forgotten Google Drive folder they’ve been sitting in since January. There’s never a better time to realign your team with the business’s goal than when the finish line is in sight. Take a moment in a dedicated meeting to reflect on what goals have been achieved so far, and which ones should be prioritised in Q4.

This rearview mirror exercise is a great opportunity to motivate team members to fulfill their personal and professional goals. It’s a nice little reset that refreshes the office energy and focuses team efforts on specific objectives. 

3. Revisit your annual budget 

Of all the business finance solutions and resolutions that prepare you for Q4, one of the most daunting ones can be checking the annual budget. Is the business on track? If not, what drew you off course? Was it an unexpected expense, or an unplanned growth opportunity that you couldn’t afford to miss out on in the long run? 

Taking a closer look at where the margins could be better defended can be confronting, but the clarity it brings to future moves is invaluable. And hey, even if the budget is not where it’s supposed to be, don’t sweat it. There are other options available to you. 

4. Get ready to capitalise on growth opportunities 

Once you have a clear idea of where the business stands in relation to its budget, you can begin preparing to capitalise on the most lucrative season of the year. To avoid being left in the tinsel dust, your business must be well-stocked with enough inventory, staff, and marketing materials to meet customer demand and differentiate from the competition. 

If you’ve just had a peek at the annual budget and you’re wondering how your business is going to have enough of a runway to reach the same soaring heights as Saint Nick this holiday season, wonder no more. Bridgement has a variety of business finance solutions to give your metaphorical sleigh the lift it needs. 

Just because it only takes 24 hours to access up to R5 million in business financing, that doesn’t mean that you need to wait until Santa is halfway down the chimney before you apply for a Bridgement facility. To extend this culturally specific festive metaphor, you don’t wait for the sound of reindeer hooves on the rooftop to bring out the cookies and milk. 

In more concrete terms, the best time to capitalise on the growth opportunities that come with Q4 is to prepare for them in Q3. Apply for your Bridgement facility today and secure the financing you need to grow your business tomorrow.