This Christmas the marketplace is going to be packed with inspiration, ideas and suggestions that can be used for the business – I can’t wait! Be alert to these ideas, and how they could impact you and your business. Be a magpie this winter; store the ideas you see, as many of them may not be required until the New Year when you start to consider your Valentines Day and Easter Campaigns.

This is the season to be merry, and with your merriment in place think about your business visibility, and how other traders use visibility to draw strangers into their business.

I will visit Christmas markets and watch how the traders speak and present their businesses, with a mission to encourage the consumer to purchase. Some of these methods maybe adapted and refined for when we attend and exhibit at trade shows ourselves. Everything is there to be reinvented; the trick is to be alert!

This is the season of retail! Money will be invested so keep an eye on how it is spent and why! Study the consumer in this period and learn, try to absorb everything.

Become the hunter –gatherer for the business; research, research and research some more. With your research hat firmly in place consider what your business could adapt and learn from; we work in a very competitive marketplace as all retailers do. You have to compete creatively, visually and with grace.

Consider the displays you see, as they could have an influence on how you display your own business. How do businesses package their products, up-sell and wrap the purchased items? This could have a positive influence for your business too. The consumer historically blows a budget at Christmas, and the guy in the red suit - Mr. Father Christmas, is a powerful marketing machine and he is the master! Let’s learn from the best!

Good luck, Catherine x