Tips for Beating the Summer Slump
Summer is a time of rest and relaxation for many people, leading to a general slowdown in many retail businesses. For small business owners who can’t afford to lose anything on their bottom line, that can make summer a trying time. Luckily, there are things you can do to keep your business growing during the summer!
Add value instead of reducing prices: Take small, affordable actions that make your offerings more attractive. Offer programs that incentivize scheduling for the fall or winter, or add extras to deal packages that take into account your overhead while still giving your audience a bargain.
Concentrate on “filling your funnel”: While your loyal and established audience is great, and they can provide you with steady income, you can use the summer to work on attracting new customers, taking advantage of slowdowns in competitor service.
Seek referrals: Ask your active customers to refer new customers to you by providing incentives such as discounts or credit towards products or services.
Upsell your items and services: Combining products or services that are related as either package deals or as suggestions or upgrades is a great way to boost the amount of revenue per order. This can help to make up differences in the number or frequency of transactions you may see in the summer.
Try out a new item or service: Summer is a great time to experiment with new products. This will let you gauge interest from both old and new clients and customers.
Email your customers regularly: If your customers are signed up for emails, they WANT to hear from you! Engage with them via email, and track what they’re interested in so you know where to put your energy!
Partner with another business: Joining up with complementary product and service providers can give you customer and client crossover, while still providing your audience with your unique offerings.
Be seasonal and smart: Using humor and awareness of the season can go a long way to getting the attention you need to keep your business running. Joking about being unavailable due to barbecues or beach time, and making time-saving offers to give your audience more summer time to themselves, will keep you in customers’ minds when they have the time and resources to engage you.
Stay positive: As with so many things, a positive mindset helps you keep your eyes up and ready for opportunities. This is not simply the positivity of assuming good things will happen, but the perspective to recognize when opportunity knocks.
Rosie’s Creative wants you to succeed in every season, and we can help your summer presence serve your needs. We can provide every service that helps a business succeed in the modern marketplace. From social media management to summer-appropriate designs, we’ll help you navigate the doldrums of summer!