30 May Summer Marketing Tips
If your business does not rely specifically on outdoor or vacation-themed services, you’re probably like most of the businesses in the San Antonio area; you experience a slow-down in traffic and revenue during the summer months. It’s simple – most of your clientele are spending their time and money on vacations, travel, relaxation and other seasonally-themed experiences and putting off the cost of whatever goods or service you offer. Sure, if you sell barbecue pits or run a snow cone stand, you’re probably seeing the opposite effect, but for most businesses, the summer months can be relatively lean.
Have no fear, though. There are ways to market your business to customers during the summer months and generate additional revenue to keep your bottom line happier and your wallet fatter. Here are three tips and tricks for summer marketing that can help out nearly any business.
1. Advertise Where Your Customers Are
This seems like an obvious statement, but you’d be surprised how many businesses fail to adjust the target of their marketing dollars. Your customers are doing different activities and using different mediums during the summer months, right? They may be spending less time in front of the TV and more time on the road heading to Six Flags or Port Aransas. There’s a reason why all the most popular TV shows are aired during the fall and spring, and then we’re treated with re-runs and game shows during the summer months. With the lower focus on TV viewership, why would you keep spending big dollars on TV commercials?
Similarly, search patterns show that mobile searches increase exponentially during the summer months, as more people are spending time on the go and less time in front of computers. This means if you’re running an AdWords campaign, you may want to shift the ratio of desktop-to-mobile budgeting. Due to the shorter attention spans of customers during these months, you should also focus on adding some remarketing to your campaign.
Simply put, if your customers are behaving differently in June, July and August, your advertising should probably adjust to match them.
2. Push Additional Incentives
Let’s face it; during the summer months, we’re all spending craploads of money. We’re planning vacations, we’re filling up the tank to take the boat out to the lake (thanks a lot, Valero. I’m now routinely spending more money at the pump than I do on a dinner out with my family), and buying tickets to Missions games or even $20 movie tickets (again, way to go Santikos. I get that the reclining seats are nice, but they aren’t made of gold). It’s just the way summer works.
Due to this, you’ll probably need to set some sort of additional incentive to get your customers to keep purchasing your goods and services. It doesn’t have to be much, but anything to make it seem like a “can’t miss” deal or something that pushes the urgency is a good idea. There’s a reason that most of the big-brand stores offer some sort of “semi-annual” special during the summer.
3. Piggy-Back on Existing Marketing
Again, this may seem like obvious logic, but it’s something that is utilized far too seldom. During the summer months, there are tons of activities, holidays, and special events going on. Whether it’s Memorial Day, July Fourth, Father’s Day, or any number of summer-themed activities, there’s no shortage of events to theme your marketing around. Rather than trying to completely re-invent the wheel during these slower months, turn into the curve and piggy-back on the fact that these are already on people’s minds.
With a little creativity, there are all kinds of ways to ride the interest in these events to boost your business’s visibility. For some businesses, the connection is obvious and apparent, and I hope that you wouldn’t need to read a marketing blog to make the connection (i.e., pushing your med spa services during the summer, when people are showing more skin and socializing more, should be a no-brainer), but if you think outside the box, you can connect almost anything.
Let’s say, for example, that your business offers auto glass repair (shameless plug for one of our O.G. clients, RNR Auto Glass here). You could run a social media campaign targeting people whose interests match vacations and travel, and use an ad that showcases the benefits of repairing your cracked windshield before taking long trips. Finding these types of top-of-mind connections can help your customers feel more invested in your goods and services and boost your revenue.
With these three helpful tips and tricks, you can create a sustainable summer marketing strategy that can keep your business flush with revenue during the months where most businesses see a decline. Always remember, if your business could benefit from a new website, professional internet marketing, or even just a consistent social media presence, call on the digital marketing and SEO experts of Odd Duck Media. We’re always happy to consult with new clients and help grow your business.