With summer usually a slow season for small businesses, we look at ways to keep things going…
While the holiday season can be a boom time for ice-cream sellers and hoteliers, it can often signal a lull in sales for many small business owners.
Summer doesn’t necessarily have to mean a drop in revenue though – there are some easy ways to make hay while the sun shines.
Hit the streets
People tend to spend more time outside during summer, so it can be trickier to reach your customers through the usual channels. If the weather’s nice, why not get outdoors and talk to people face-to-face? That way, you can get your message across directly.
Summer is a good time to get creative and start experimenting with new promotions. Think about handing out freebies or discount vouchers in a bid to attract new clients. Place ads and flyers in locations that are busier during the warmer months so they get noticed.
Target holidaymakers
As everyone’s thoughts turn to holidays, festivals and fetes, you too should turn your attention to sun, sea and selling.
Aim your promotions and marketing at people going on holiday. There are plenty of summer-related products you could give away to your target audience, such as water bottles and Frisbees branded with your company logo.
If your particular product or service has a special use during summer, it’s the perfect excuse to hand out samples.
Capitalise on big summer events
It probably hasn’t escaped your notice that there are some big sporting events going on this summer, not least the Olympics and European football championships. And there’s also the Queen’s 90th birthday celebration this year.
The buzz surrounding major events is a great way to drum up support for your business by creating content or marketing based around them.
You could tailor tweets around them to drive traffic to your website or perhaps host an Olympic-themed barbecue, giving attendees a goody bag that contains appealing information about your business.
Use downtime to chase up old leads
During summer it’s likely to be quieter than normal. That doesn’t mean you can put your feet up and be less productive. See it as an opportunity to email clients that you haven’t heard from in a while.
Sometimes customers drift away because they don’t have regular contact with a business, so it’s important to make them feel valued. Sending out a newsletter to an old customer could lead to renewed custom.
Continue reaching out to them during the rest of the year with special offers and discounts so your business stays firmly in the mind of your target audience all year round.
Create a summer social media thread
Summer is a good time to heat up your presence on social media. Highlight something about holidays that relates to your particular product or service, with eye-catching visuals that make you stand out from the crowd.
Use high-quality photos to showcase a great new product or service to your followers, making sure they utilise bright colours and images that match your summer theme.
As mentioned earlier, it could be something to do with Euro 2016, or maybe capturing your staff in funky T-shirts and sunglasses to show a more fun side to your business.
Posted by The Secret Businessman