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It is not too late to start your summer marketing plan.
Summer is the busy season for many businesses, especially hospitality businesses. Your summer marketing campaign can make the most of increased demand.
However, you want your advertising available to people in the planning stage to make it work for you. You also want to handle advertising before things get too busy. It can be easy to let your advertising slip when your business increases for the season. However, doing so can mean losing potential customers and profits.
It may barely be spring, but summer is just around the corner. First things first, we need to talk about when summer starts. According to the calendar, summer begins in late June. However, summer begins as soon as kids get out for summer break for business purposes. In the Houston area, your summer begins in late May or early June. They are just around the corner!
You want to start your summer marketing as soon as possible. Customers are starting to shop, and your competitors are starting to market. You do not want your customers to see ads by your competitors instead of you.
That is even more important in an online environment. In the stores, customers can get frustrated when seasonal advertising is too early. How many of us roll our eyes when the Christmas stuff is out in stores the day after Halloween? Online things are a bit different. You can advertise for the summer without having it take over your entire website. It gives you the best of both worlds.
That is a very personalized question.
To plan for your marketing campaign, you need to consider your customers.
What have your customers done in past summers? Knowing their previous purchasing habits can help you market to them this summer.
It is essential to understand natural increases and decreases. If you run a shaved ice truck or a pool repair business, your business should be in high demand in the summer months. An increase in demand does not necessarily reflect a great marketing campaign. On the other hand, if you run a business with higher demand in the winter, if you can keep that demand high in the summer, you have found a successful marketing technique.
Do you have a hospitality business? Will summer holidays like Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Juneteenth, or Labor Day impact your business? Does summer travel influence your customers?
Holidays are a great way to offer deals to your customers. In the United States, businesses traditionally offer Memorial Day and Labor Day savings. If you have international customers, think about their summer holidays.
Plus, consider the type of business you have. Fourth of July and Juneteenth promotions are not as popular as Memorial Day and Labor Day promotions. However, if you are renting bounce houses or other party equipment, they could be high-demand times.
Are you in the hospitality business? For marketing purposes, hospitality includes restaurants, hotels, and tourist attractions. However, we also have to think about tourism-adjacent companies. Do you run a pet-sitting service? Then, you want to market to people who travel in the summer.
What type of holiday promotions do your competitors offer? If they have Labor Day or Memorial Day sales, consider starting yours a day or two earlier and running them for the duration of their campaigns. It can be a great way to get the customers to your site first.
While summer may begin when school ends in late May or early June, it does not end when school starts. Back-to-school promotions are part of your summer advertising campaign.
It seems like schools are starting earlier and earlier. With some schools starting as early as mid-August, parents may want to get their school supply shopping done by the end of July. You can market to those early birds by starting back-to-school campaigns at the beginning of July.
However, you have to think about what kind of business you have. Some customers do not want to think about the school year. That applies to parents, not just students. You do not want to annoy them by prematurely promoting back-to-school.
The beauty of internet advertising is that you can promote different things to different people. Instead of back-to-school marketing for all of your customers, you can look at targeting ads to people who search for back-to-school sales or school supplies.
Promotions and discounts are an excellent way to get customers to your store. They can also make you lose profit. You need to think about them from a practical perspective. If you run a snow-cone stand, you probably do not need to offer discounts to get business in July. Instead, your marketing can focus on making people aware of your business. However, it can be an excellent time to run a weekday mani-pedi special if you have a salon. Not all companies will have the same summer marketing needs. Be wary of anyone trying to fit you into a one-size-fits-all summer marketing niche.
Even if you do not plan to start your summer advertising until late May, you want to plan it now. Improz can help you. We are a full-service agency from analyzing business trends to establishing a marketing plan tailored to your business and your customers. Contact us today to find out more.
