Is your small business ready for the New Year? Get ready to switch gears with our top tips on how to incorporate stationery into your business to make the most of 2023.
The New Year is here once again, which means that back-to-school season is too. And like kids and parents across the country, you will need to get back into the swing of things, too.
This time of the year, it’s easy to get lost in the excitement of starting fresh and forget about the little details that go into making your business run smoothly. One of the first things to fall by the wayside is stationery.
From the calendar on your desk to the notepads at the office and journals by your bed, it’s hard to overstate the importance of stationery to the day-to-day running of your small business. Overlook stationery selection and you’ll fail to meet important deadlines, leave conversations incomplete, or lose valuable contacts!
To help you transition from summer fun back into work mode when the New Year hits, we’ve rounded up some ways for you to use stationery in your small business that will help you stay on top of your game throughout 2023 and beyond.
Let’s start with the basics before we get down to business.
Notebooks and pens for managing your projects
As a business owner, you have plenty of projects on your plate. Whether it’s testing out a new product or setting up the new year’s budget, there’s always something to do. Every project starts with a plan, so why not keep it all in one place? Start the year off on the right foot by getting a notebook to keep track of your deadlines and progress, as well as a few different coloured pens or highlighters so you can easily see what’s been done and what needs attention.
Looking to promote your small business? Business cards are one of the easiest ways to get your name out there, even if you’re selling products on eCommerce sites like Takealot or through social media sites such as Facebook. Leaving a stack of business at your local cafe is a great way to let customers know that you’re available to contact, and it also helps them remember who you are at a later stage.
Surprise and delight your customer by revealing a new “gift” in the form of a checkout code or product on your site for a month. If that’s a bit of a stretch for your business, go for the twelve days of Christmas.
Either way, a virtual advent calendar is 1) a fabulous and festive way to structure your Christmas marketing campaign and 2) an effective way of promoting product discovery. It also adds a nice touch of gamification to your site.
Soon, you’ll have customers checking out your site every day for a new offer or a new product. Great for traffic, great for customer engagement!
Include a handwritten thank-you note in every package you send out. Thanking customers for their business shows that you appreciate their support and value their time. Plus, handwritten notes are more likely to be kept than emails or social media messages — which means they’ll help build loyalty over time and encourage customers to keep coming back!
Creating cute holiday or special-day cards adds a personal touch to your business and it’s a great way of showing your customers you care. You could, for example, send a sweet Valentine’s Day card to your customers in February, or, even a braai-themed one around Heritage Day. These gestures will make them feel extra special, which helps your business stand out from the competition!
If you’re planning any kind of special event, whether it’s your business’s anniversary party, a seminar or a workshop — invitations are a must. You can order invitations online and select customisable templates that allow you to upload photos and text, so they’ll look personalised right away. If you want something more formal, try using stationery with matching envelopes that match the colour scheme of your event.
Whether you’re looking to ship in some stationery items or your business products, Airpool has got your back. We offer a range of consolidation shipping solutions that make it easy for you to order all your supplies from China and have them delivered to your doorstep quickly and efficiently. Don’t get left behind – start importing your supplies today so that you can get down to business when the New Year rolls around.
Landed cost is the sum of all expenses associated with importing your goods from China to South Africa. This includes the cost of the goods paid to your supplier, the shipping costs, clearance costs and the import taxes & duties.
It is represented on a per unit cost and helps you with:
Note: This is not what you are paying to Airpool but rather what you are paying to all the suppliers and relevant parties: Airpool, the Manufacturer of the goods and the Import Taxes (VAT & Duties)
