Running a small business can be equal parts gratifying and challenging. As the seasons come and go, companies often encounter uncertainty as to their revenue ebbs and flows. Contending with promoting products and services year-round requires an ability to continuously adapt to the unique marketing circumstances of each season. The key is to see in the change of the season’s opportunity and to find ways these changes can be beneficial to the growth. From optimizing your operations to utilizing holiday marketing, there are many small business solutions to be found in the arrival of a new season.
Time Is Of The Essence
Maximize the possibilities of the upcoming season by planning your businesses’ next moves ahead of time. Before the new season arrives, create a unique seasonal landing page – or redesign your main page. Prepare email blasts to your customer database. Re-envision your marketing materials. Brainstorm new product offerings and services. The ideal marketing schedule will have you working on campaigns months ahead of time. If you are planning on launching a new visual campaign complete with banners and web graphics, use this prep time to dream up, integrate, and perfect the designs that will stand out in the new season.
Marketing Magic
No matter what type of small business you are running, the holidays are without a doubt the biggest opportunity for customer outreach and marketing. First, your inbound customer communications as well as sales data and POS information system should all provide information on where customers are coming from – how they found you. This is vital data to have when you are conceptualizing your marketing plan and spend.
A fall-themed marketing campaign prepares your customer base for all the offerings of the ensuing three or four months without overwhelming them with deals and steals. Your email and outdoor banner advertising campaigns should slowly but surely introduce the arrival of fall and the holidays, beginning with Halloween and leading all the way up to New Year’s Eve. Colorful, festive visuals drive seasonal marketing. They provide a sense of calm and colors that imbue serenity. The holidays are made for going all-out when it comes to sales campaigns, and your small business will benefit from a well-themed holiday campaign.
Simplifying Solutions
If you are not using the latest POS, you’re more than likely complicating payments and both inter- and intra-company communications systems. An up-to-date POS simplifies everything from sales & customer service to inventory and payroll. Better still, it can track sales and report on what is selling best or worst, what days any given product is most likely to sell, and is an easy way to receive customer data. You might also look into accepting other, more innovative methods of payment processing such as CashApp, Venmo, Apple Pay, and Zelle are all integrating the mobile banking experience and expanding your opportunities for sales.
Buy in on the Margins
Sometimes it’s not about having the highest profit margin but rather maximizing sales. A lower margin but with higher sales still can put you ahead of the game. Attractive seasonal discounts create a sense of urgency in a customer’s mind and can result in boosted revenue. Whether through a promotional email campaign or with the use of sales banners or special postcard QR codes that deliver their discount or gift when scanned in the store, ensuring that your seasonal sale is widely promoted encourages previous customers to maintain their loyalty to your brand and allows you to reach new customers as well.
Another way to improve your bottom line is through budget optimization. Eliminate all unnecessary expenses and put tighter caps on the spending that is necessary. Make your business lean while remaining high functioning. The second is to take that data from your POS system and see where you have the opportunity to raise prices; do your own market research of competitor pricing as well.
Rebrand Ready
Analyze your current branding and ask yourself: is my brand contemporary? Which aspects of my message are reaching customers, and which are falling flat? When was the last time I rebranded? If the answer to that last question is more than 4 years… it’s time for a rebranding strategy. Adaptability is key and if you have the same tired branding, you aren’t adapting and your customers know it at a minimum an intuitive level. What areas would you like to improve? Who is your current target audience? Your branding needs to incorporate these key concepts. The values of your company should be conveyed as well. The strongest rebrands are those that have clear, consistent messaging that accurately reflects what your brand provides.
Keep Up With The Competition
Take stock of how other small business owners are gearing up to boost revenue in the upcoming season. This could mean reviewing their websites, checking out customer reviews, and looking into any new products or services they are planning to launch next season. Having this knowledge will give you the insight you need to have an edge on the competition. If customers are raving about how a business is keeping their well being in mind with measures like safety signs, then it’s already past time for you to implement similar strategies with your small business.
Diverse Solutions
Diversifying your offerings can give a much-needed boost to your seasonal revenues. Whether your small business provides services or sells products, there are a number of avenues an owner can take to keep their offerings fresh. For example, seasonal variations of best-selling products not only catch a customer’s attention, but they also play upon their fear of missing out on a limited-time deal. Each passing season provides a slew of unique possibilities, and it’s up to you as a small business owner to hone in on those potential powerhouses.
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