As a business owner, you might dread the off season. After all, we all enjoy when business is booming and it can be disheartening when things slow down. But did you know that there are ways to keep your revenue stream consistent all throughout the year?
To make this happen, you should focus on marketing. With the right strategies, you can make sure that your business stays at the forefront of customers’ minds and you’re always finding new ways to make money.
Marketing During The Off Season
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and at a loss when business is slow. Let us turn that mindset around with a few marketing strategies.
Grow Your Database During Peak Season
While all your customers are still around (at your location and on your website), it’s the perfect time to beef up your email database. Your database should consist of previous customers as well as other people who have expressed interest in your business – that way, you can keep in touch with them during the off-season and convert new leads into customers by the time business picks up again.
Simply place numerous and effective calls to action around your website. These buttons encourage people to stay in touch via an email list for updates about your blog or offers that they can cash into by remaining a loyal customer.
Your off-season productivity can grow with a full database, so make sure to grow this list while you have plenty of traffic.
Create Excitement
Always keep peak season relevant in people’s minds. Whether you do this by starting a countdown, reminding customers of updates coming up, specials, discounts, giveaways, new inventory, or something else is up to you. It stokes customer engagement and makes them aware of opportunities to shop with you as they prepare for the next season too.
Focus On Branding
Throughout your off-season, prioritizing your branding is beneficial. During this period, you should continue advertising tactics like radio commercials, digital display and OTT. But rather than encouraging your customers to “buy now,” focus your message on your branding promise instead. Remind people of your mission – why do you do what you do? Who do you do it for?
This is how to make sure you’re still showing up/ranking high in search results when business is slow. Then you’re at the top of customers’ minds when they look for a service or product like yours.
Keep Up With Social Media
Social media has the power to act as your year-round storefront. Even when they aren’t shopping with you in person or online, your customers are still scrolling on their phones.
Your business should make the most of Facebook, Instagram, and Linkedin (and we can help you with that!) to stay top of mind and create relationships with your customers that last far beyond the sale.
You can also use social media to publish reviews, run contests, host polls, and share content about what’s coming up for your business. Valuable content also includes your day-to-day activities as a business, whether that’s highlighting certain employees, doing “day in the life” videos, or sharing unique stories.
Think of it like this: you want to start a conversation with your customer on social media, not force sales at them. The relationship that the conversation brings is crucial to customer loyalty and retention, and social media is the perfect place to make it happen.
Engage With The Community
Social media isn’t the only place where you should focus on engagement. It’s also important to be engaged with your local community in person.
To create a strong relationship with your community, have a presence at local events that are relevant to your industry.
Beyond that, feel free to trade ideas with other local business owners, join Facebook groups, or collaborate with a local nonprofit to host a fundraiser or charity event. Getting out there and putting a face to your name is never a bad thing.
Incentivize Reviews
When your busy season ends, customers have typically had time to spend with your products and they’re sure of how they feel about your business. This makes the off-season the ideal time to ask for feedback. You can do this through social media, an on-site campaign, or emails; customers’ thoughts are a useful tool that potential leads can use when they’re deciding whether or not to shop with you.
Offering an incentive for reviews is a nice touch, too. That way, there’s something in it for the customer and they’re more likely to lend you their time and feedback.
Plan For Next Season
The free time that you have in the off-season is a blessing in disguise. It gives you the space you need to look back on the year prior and plan for what you can improve on for next year. Take a close look at your marketing strategies to see what worked and what didn’t so you can amend your plan for the upcoming season accordingly.
Your Best Off Season Yet
Marketing can stabilize your business and put you on the path to success – and many underestimate its power during the off-season.
At Federated Media, we understand the ins and outs of marketing and can help you make the most of it during your business’s off-season. Get in touch with us to break ground on your plan today!
