Small Business Marketing – Summertime Sizzle

Staycation Summer-Time Relaxation

Summer is a hot time to market in a slow season. Don’t give into the summer slump. Give your marketing the jump! Build your audience and your sales this summer with these three summer sizzling ideas. Here are a few ideas for your Summertime Small Business Marketing.

Create a “Staycation” for Your Customers

For some people, travel might not be on the books for summer because they’re busy with kids, or they’re busy with work, or they can’t afford it. If these people are your target customers, then doing vacation themed marketing to them isn’t going to have the results you want. It could even make your customers feel alienated and as though you don’t understand them at all, which isn’t going to translate to an increase in sales.

Instead, market to where your customers are at right now. If you’re talking to overworked business owners, a series of entertaining posts or photos based around the idea of the “office staycation” could increase engagement and customer loyalty.

Host a Local Event. Hosting a local event can get you in front of new people and position your business as a community leader. It’s summer, don’t sweat the details – mix a little relaxation for your customers and they’ll remember you when it’s time to purchase or sign that contract.

Cool Your Client’s – Break the Summer Heat

Summer creates a whole new set of problems for customers – heat, for one thing. Something cool and soothing can be just the trick to get people in the door. Hand out cold bottles of water or popsicles while you’re passing out those flyers. Online, maybe you send a virtual bottle of water to cool down the heat and mix up the sales. You may just get a few new customers or clients coming through your door as a result.

Give-Aways Are Golden

Giveaways are a tried and true marketing technique. When done correctly, they can boost sales significantly. If you sell something that goes with a summery theme, then feel free to do a giveaway of one of your products. Suntan lotion, beach towels, or techno gadgets are great.

You can also strategically use a giveaway to learn more about your audience and to grow your potential customers for the future. That way, come fall, you have a larger audience to sell to once people are back from vacation.

Once you’ve got more people interested in your business, keep it up. If your sales do tend to get lower in summer, that’s the perfect time to set up an email list or set up your social media channels and start posting regularly. These things may be easy to neglect during a peak season, but now you’ve got no excuse!