Have you noticed that the weather this year has been unusual? It’s been hard to predict for sure. My neighbor told me that the Farmer’s Almanac called for some pretty intense snow during the winter season so I made sure to buy a 50lb bag of driveway salt so we could get to the store (where everyone stocks up on milk and bread for snow days) and sleds so we could have fun on the days when there was too much snow to go driving.
But there was no need for this preparation. The snow we got was minimal and melted quickly. I’ve used my winter jacket exactly 1 time this year and only in the morning for a few hours.
In fact, I’m pretty sure that there were a few days in February and March where we experienced all four seasons, starting off chilly with a little frost or snow flurries, quickly warmed to sweater weather (“Sweatah weathah!”), then the sun came out and it was down to short sleeves, then back to freezing overnight.
Even though the weather has been unpredictable, I was glad to be prepared. My family was ready for rain, snow, spring, winter, hot, cold. And we had to be flexible and adapt to whatever the Weather Channel brought us.
In business, you try to prepare for seasons as well… tourist season, tax season, summer break, Black Friday. You adjust inventory levels, personnel bandwidth, operating hours, office space. It’s important to operate as efficiently as possible while maximizing sales potential.
Often overlooked during the seasonal preparation is marketing. You should prepare for seasons in your business with your marketing efforts as well. Your brand needs to reach your audience at the right time and right place. For example, if you operate a ski lodge, you’re probably not going to purchase a lot of digital advertising over the 4th of July weekend. But you might have billboards and ads in the in-flight magazines during late summer. With so many moving pieces, a well-designed marketing strategy is key to successful seasonal preparation.
However, like the weather, the market is an ever-changing and dynamic climate. Even with a great seasonal strategy, the variables change and you need to be ready to change your marketing strategy to capitalize on the opportunities, especially with the speed that people disseminate and consume information through social media.
- Watch the trending stories and hashtags. See if there’s a way to inject your brand into Twitter games. Respond to your competitor’s struggles with your own humor (but be respectful).
- Be unexpected. Attach a special sale to a random holiday. Utilize guerrilla marketing. Generate buzz through nontraditional channels.
- Create a marketing toolbox that is ready for any season. Be ready to pull content and ideas from your toolbox to use whenever the market changes. Oftentimes, the fastest response is the best response.
Creating this type of marketing strategy can be overwhelming and confusing. The High Road Agency is a full-service marketing agency, specializing in all forms of traditional and digital advertising, branding, video production, and web development. We create seasonal strategies every day. And we react to changing markets everyday too. Contact us to start your preparations.
(By the way, if anyone is in need of 50lb of driveway salt, let me know… I’ll make you a deal.)
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