As people prepare for Hajj in Saudi Arabia, you must prepare your business to cater to their needs.
It may seem a challenging task.
But don’t worry. We’ve got you covered.
In this blog, we highlight the significance of the Hajj season for your business. You will also find tips your business can use with examples to prep for the season.
There’s also a section on how to comply with the rules and regulations for people looking to start a new business.
Let’s start.
What is Hajj?
Hajj is the fifth fundamental Muslim practice. Every Muslim performs it at least once in their lifetime. Every year, millions perform this ritual over a five-day period.
They circle Islam’s most sacred site – the Kaaba. This site is a symbolic representation of the house of God. It also represents oneness, brotherhood, and equality. Hajj is also the highest form of honour for Muslims.
It is also a time of service to humanity and holds significance for businesses.
What is the significance of Hajj for businesses?
Hajj is the longest-running business season in Saudi Arabia. The hospitality, tourism, and telecommunications sectors benefit from this season.
The Saudi government launches Hajj packages to aid people travelling to Saudi Arabia. In 2022, the cheapest of these packages cost SAR 10,234. All the packages include airfare, accommodation, food, and transport to assist pilgrims.
In 2017, pilgrims spent SAR 4.2 billion on retail products. Retail spending during Hajj is the second largest source of income for businesses. People prefer to buy gold, silver, electronics, prayer beads, and Ajwa dates to take back home.
Apart from the main holy site, historical places also drive Hajj tourism.
In 2022, over 750,000 pilgrims visited Saudi Arabia. Of these, pilgrims from Asian countries were the highest at 53.8%. Pilgrims coming from Europe, America, and Australia stood at 11.6%.
Most pilgrims arrived via airports, while a little over 35,000 people drove to Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Arabian government aims to attract 30 million pilgrims by 2030. To make this possible, they made substantial infrastructure changes.
For businesses in Saudi Arabia, these are good tidings. This brings us to the tips you can use to have a profitable season ahead.
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5 tips for preparing your business for Hajj 2023
As the hubbub around pilgrim sites increases, you must start preparing for the new crowd and customers. These 5 tips will give you a head start.
1. Start planning early
Of all the tips anyone may give you, this is the one that will provide you with the most time leverage.
Create a plan of action for the Hajj season. Include your marketing, sales, and promotion strategy. Brainstorm ideas with your team members and come up with packages and deliverables.
Saudi Arabia announces Hajj at least 6 months in advance. This gives you ample time to create a step-by-step plan.
For example, let’s say you run a tourism company that sells airline reservations for Saudi Arabia. You can start by announcing Hajj packages as early as 5 months before Hajj.
Create different packages that cater to both low-end and high-end customers. You can add variation in the days of visit and the number of locations people can visit.
If you operate a restaurant, use these 5 tips to promote your restaurant during the pilgrimage season.
Also, connect with tour operators from countries where many pilgrims come from. Your prices and packages will have better exposure.
Once you have designed your packages, promote these through social media and messaging, email and SMS marketing.
2. Make adjustments to your operations and supply chain
This tip is handy for businesses that supply tangible, high-demand products. Examples include food items, dates, and prayer mats.
Calculate how much inventory you need for the length of the season. Items will be in much higher demand close to the pilgrimage than 2 months before.
This also means you will need extra labour. Remember onboarding new labour may need accurate communication and training. Also, use technology to assist you in smoothing out your operations.
Let’s look at the example of a date store.
Demand for Ajwa dates increases during Hajj. Ensure you have enough Ajwa supply and more than one supplier to back you up. Expect a higher footfall if your shop is centrally located.
Next, add some seasonal workers to your workforce. Take into account the size of your shop while doing this. Companies hire thousands of workers during peak season. Ensure you have their contracts made out to this effect.
Automate sales and add delivery to help you gain a competitive edge.
Now, all you have to do is market your products to attract a paying audience.
3. Develop a marketing strategy to attract Hajj pilgrims
Pilgrimage brings a huge demand for specific retail sectors. But this also brings in a ton of competitors who want a piece of the cake.
This calls for expert planning and marketing strategy. Start as soon as you know what you will offer.
Let’s look at the example of a restaurant offering healthy food for convenience.
Fast and healthy food is one of the elements highly pursued by pilgrims. Ensure you package food properly. Advertise this fact through SMS and social media.
Every pilgrim has a mobile phone on them for quick communication. Use an efficient SMS service provider like SMSCountry to send SMS messages to your audience as many times as you want.
You can also use SMS to take orders from your pilgrims busy in supplications and offer delivery.
Embed a voice API and send out occasional voice advertisements to your customers. But ensure brevity while doing so.
WhatsApp API is another option you can use. Create a file of the numbers from your database that are on WhatsApp. Send them friendly reminders and messages about upcoming deals and options for delivery.
Remember your strategy this season will also create word of mouth for the next season. Make wise investments in tools and software.
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4. Consider partnering with other businesses to offer packages or deals
Deals are any pilgrim’s delight. For you, it means maintaining and gaining a customer base. You will also reduce marketing and promotion costs and likely sell more.
So deals make you stand out if you can directly address your clients’ needs.
Let’s look at the example of how the government of Saudi Arabia does this.
The government provides packages for accommodation and transportation to and from pilgrim sites. They also add flights, meals, and guide scholars to the deals.
They then enlist the services of local companies which offer these services.
If you are a business operating in these areas, you can apply to provide your service via the government. However, consider finding synergistic partners catering to specific needs as a retailer.
For example, if you are a hotel owner, partner with a tourism company to offer tours to distant pilgrim sites.
Also, enlist the service of some tour guides for the purpose. Offer this package as a freebie to customers or charge a separate discounted price.
Now all three businesses can market the same deal to their customers. Expect to see people turn up for the tour exclusively.
5. Provide useful information and resources to help Hajj pilgrims plan their trip
To use this tip, you need some marketing and communication tools. We recommend using SMS as most pilgrims prefer it.
Hajj information keeps pilgrims in the loop. But it is vital to send it during downtime to avoid getting in the way of their rituals.
Let’s look at how a tourism company will do this.
Most tourism companies know the landscape of Saudi Arabia well. They are also aware of the hot spots within the country. Also, they can tell you which areas to avoid based on the previous year’s information.
Share this information in bite-sized bits via SMS with your customers as they arrive. You can also do this with a WhatsApp broadcast using our WhatsApp API solution.
Also, share a list of important numbers in Saudi Arabia. A quick reference list like the nearest hospitals can save your customers a lot of trouble.
You can also share a resource list for purchasing. Add medicines and a list of stores selling prayer mats, beads, and personal items to the list.
But before sending an SMS or WhatsApp broadcast, do you know whether you can conduct business in Saudi Arabia?
An old business may not face this challenge. But if you plan to start a new one, you should gather information at least 6 months in advance.
Jump to the next section to see what to do and where to go.
Staying compliant with regulations and requirements for businesses during the Hajj season
Like most countries, Saudi Arabia also has government entities managing and registering businesses. One major department, amongst others, is the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The Saudi Arabian Investment Authority (SAGIA) looks after investment certifications. While the General Organisation of Social Insurance (GOSI) covers the insurance of employees.
Here is what you need to do:
- Understand the regulations and requirements: Look for specific resources from the Saudi Chamber of Commerce, the Customs Department and the Ministry of Labour to see what rules apply to your business type.
- Comply with local laws: Submit relevant paperwork to the organisations to get registered. Also, open a commercial bank account.
- Get necessary licenses: Some licenses in Saudi have fixed fees, while others need proper paperwork. If you need help, hire a lawyer to clarify your legal requirements.
- Send SMSes right: Saudi Arabia has regulations that govern how businesses use SMS. Ensure you comply with them.
Registering your business with the ministry can take up to 4 months.
Prepare your business for Hajj season with SMSCountry
Getting a head start is key to the success of your business during the Hajj season.
Ensure efficiency to keep your business afloat during peak Hajj season. Also, make all your permits and licences and add an effective marketing tool like SMS.
We recommend SMSCountry to connect with your customers via SMS.
SMSCountry provides enterprise-level messaging to businesses of all sizes in Saudi Arabia.
Schedule a free demo today, and our team will contact you ASAP.
Better yet, sign up today and get started.
