Mid-Year Review: Making Success in the Second Half of the Year for Game and Hobby Stores
As we reach the halfway point of the year, it’s a great time for game and hobby store owners to pause and look at their progress, fine-tune their strategies, and prepare for a strong finish of the year. A mid-year review is a perfect time for evaluating performance, making adjustments, and ensuring you stay on track with your goals. Here are the top five areas to take a look at during your mid-year review.
Take a Look at Your Sales
As summer is now in full swing and the 4th of July is around the corner, now is a good time to dive into your sales numbers. Pull out your income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow reports to assess your financial standing. Compare these with your budget and forecasts to identify any problem areas. Understanding why these differences exist can highlight what’s working well and what needs more attention. By catching these early, you can make adjustments and stay on course to meet your financial goals by year-end. As a bonus, your accountant may appreciate you looking at these and having a mid-year review for them.
Review Your Goals
Checking in on the goals you set at the beginning of the year is a good strategy at this midpoint of the year. Learn about how to set S.M.A.R.T goals here. Take a look on how much progress you’ve made and determine if your goals are still relevant, given any changes in the market or your business. You might need to tweak your goals or set new ones to better align with your current business plan. Keeping your goals up to date ensures you remain focused on what’s most important, helping you better allocate your resources and efforts for the rest of the year. Regularly reviewing and adjusting your goals also keeps your team on track, providing clear direction and maintaining communication and motivation towards common objectives.
Review Employee Performance
Mid-year is also a great time to check in with your team and see how everyone’s doing. Sit down with your employees as a group or one on one and discuss their performance so far. This is an opportunity to give them well-deserved praise, offer and receive constructive feedback, and communicate any new goals for the second half of the year. These check-ins can also help identify who might need extra support or training.
Reviewing performance isn’t just about keeping everyone on track either, it’s also a chance to uncover any day-to-day problems they might be facing. Small issues can often go unnoticed by a management team but can significantly impact productivity because of the day to day issues faced by your team.. By addressing these minor problems, you can improve your team’s work life and boost overall productivity. When employees feel heard and supported, they’re more motivated and engaged, which benefits everyone.
Look Over Your Customer Feedback and Marketing
It’s also a great time to check in with your customers and understand how they feel about your business. Try and get some feedback through surveys, reviews, or direct conversations to gauge what’s working and what might need improvement. Also take time to look at and read as many Google, Yelp, and Facebook reviews. Looking at these reviews could give you an insight on problems with work flow or daily tasks not being completed. Your customers can reveal insights and help you make changes to enhance their experience. Addressing their concerns or adding their suggestions can lead to higher satisfaction and loyalty, which leads to additional sales and event turnout.
At the same time, evaluate your marketing efforts. Assess how your campaigns have been performing and determine if they’re hitting the mark. Social media advertising is sometimes very hard to measure an ROI (Return On Investment) so compare sales periods between advertisements and non-advertised times. This might be a good opportunity to adjust your marketing strategies based on the feedback and reports you’ve gathered. Many businesses ramp up their marketing efforts in preparation for Q4 and the holiday season, so looking at your approach now can pay off significantly later. Aligning your marketing strategies with customer feedback and preparing for the holiday period can maximize your reach and impact when it matters most. Practicing now with marketing like paid social media ads, email marketing, or text messages will give you the time you need to learn what works now so you can crush your Q4 goals.
Plan for the Second Half of the Year
Now that you’ve reviewed your goals, talked with your team, and reviewed customer feed back, now’s the perfect time to lay out your game plan for the rest of the year. Set clear, actionable goals for the next six months that align with your big-picture objectives. Determine what resources you’ll need—whether it’s adjusting your budget, adding team members, or acquiring new tools—and ensure you’re prepared.
Think ahead to significant events and deadlines, especially with Q4 and the holiday season coming up. Companies like Wizard’s of the Coast have been trying to add their future events and release weekends on a calendar so you can plan around it. It’s also great to check in with your distributors and publishers about their Q4 releases. Place your wish lists with them sooner rather than later to secure your orders and avoid any last-minute scrambles.
By getting your plans in place now, you’ll be well-prepared to make the most of the busy times. Having a solid plan keeps everyone focused and on the same page, making it easier to stay organized and hit those end-of-year targets. A little proactive planning now can save a lot of hassle later and help you finish the year strong.
Conclusion
By focusing on these five key areas during your mid-year review, you can ensure your game and hobby store stays on track to meet its annual goals and is well-prepared for a successful second half of the year. Remember, this is a time not only to reflect but to adapt and strategize for future growth and success while keeping yourself and your team all on the same page.
