Businesses who are affected by seasonal fluctuation tend to bunker down in the winter, restricting spending and going into a semi-hibernation. (Ski equipment and fireplace sellers… bookmark this article for January!)
While most companies see the spring and summer seasons as a tiny, slowly growing blips on the horizon, those invested in making the most out of their marketing have likely already organised all of their advertising and on hold messaging months before the first blossom buds emerge.
Don’t wait too long to organize your summer season plans, to wait until the last minute only leads to ill thought out campaigns and rushed, shoddy product.
If you are in the hospitality, retail, foodservice or travel industry then you should pay extra special attention.
You should already know what sort of stock or customer numbers are arriving in the next few months, or what type of deals you’ll be offering, so now it’s time to sit down with your marketing team and messaging producers and hash out the shape of your upcoming summer season.
Take a look at your last summer season, discuss what worked and what didn’t, did a rival competitor or company in another industry do anything that worked particularly well? Use customer feedback to help you guide your way. Get creative while always keeping your brand and customer expectations in mind. Throughout all don’t forget to include the humdrum yet essential information like opening hours and location.
By setting up all your messaging so far in advance you can focus on other, more important things. It’s easy to fool yourself by imagining that you can can deal with it later, when in reality businesses get busier, there’s new staff to train, stock to unpack etc and before you know it, its February and you’ve missed another busy seasonal opportunity.
Don’t let the busy season sneak up on you this year, plan and organize your marketing well in advance for the best, most effective advertising and messaging.