Seasonal Marketing – Before, During, and After
If yours is like many other businesses, you may notice a significant boost to sales during certain times of the year. For an air conditioning company, the seasonal peak occurs during the spring and summer months. For a horror-based boutique shop, fall and the Halloween season are when business abounds. Heavy coat manufacturers see a huge surge in business during the fall and winter seasons. Regardless of the industry, though, all seasonal businesses struggle with the timing of their marketing campaigns.
It’s time for the struggle to come to an end! Instead of thriving for only one or two months out the year, we want to see seasonal businesses keep their customers interested and engaged all year long. This allows for increased sales, more innovative thinking, and a path to continuous growth and development. This post will explore the steps that your seasonal business should take before, during, and after peak season in order to remain viable and successful 356 days a year.
Before Peak Season
Prior to arriving at your peak season, we strongly recommend that you:
Start Up a Blog – If you don’t already have a blog, it’s high time that you created one. If you do have a blog, now is the time to give it a makeover and start updating it more frequently. In the months before your peak season, consumers will start to research companies that offer products and services like your own. The earlier you can attract their attention to your blog and website, the more likely that they’ll remember your name when the “on” season arrives. It’s like creating a built-in customer base before peak season even starts.
Pre-Seasonal Promotion – It seems like every year, Christmas comes a little bit sooner. Why? Because seasonal marketers know that people want to start getting ready for the holiday season early so that they can score money-saving deals, which will keep them from dropping a ton of their hard-earned cash at one time. Regardless of what your industry is or when your peak season occurs, it’s smart to start offering sales and pre-seasonal promotions that get people excited about buying your stuff.
During Peak Season
It’s zero hour! Peak season has arrived and your inventory is going to start flying off the shelves – if, that is, you are marketing yourself properly. Here are a few smart ideas for maintaining your marketing game throughout your primo season:
Give Back – Today’s consumers like giving their business to companies that give back to their communities and do their part to help others. Partnering up with a charity will score you a lot of brownie points and will help you stand out from the competition. In addition to attracting the interest of your target audience, you’ll gain new customers as the charity promotes your business for you. Bonus!
Social Marketing – Hit your social media audience when they’re most excited about the types of products and services that you sell! Social media marketing helps create a great deal of hype about your brand and can expand your reach further than you ever imagined. Use hashtags to promote your stuff, rev up your audience with special contests and giveaways, and communicate with your target audience to build lasting relationships.
After Peak Season
Don’t stop marketing just because your peak season is over. At this point, it’s smart to:
Evaluate and Revamp – Take some time to evaluate how well your strategy worked, which products and services were your best sellers, and which areas of your campaign could use improvement. The best time to start exploring new products and revenue strategies is right after peak season when you’re still on fire.
Stay in Touch – Be sure to stay in touch with your leads and customers throughout the year, offering special deals and promotions at regular intervals.
Could your seasonal business use a little extra help throughout the year? Madison Taylor Marketing has partnered with seasonal businesses of all types in order to ensure year-round success.
