Top Tips For Seasonal Marketing

Whether you’re an experienced marketer or new to the field, you probably realize that your campaign should always be improving and evolving. One important factor to consider is how your campaign should differ at various times of the year. The most obvious example of “seasonal marketing” occurs during the Christmas seasons. Retail marketers know consumers are likely to spend money during this season and plan their campaigns accordingly. From November to January you can’t leave the house, turn on the television, or go online without seeing a Christmas-themed advertisement of some kind.

However, seasonal marketing is by no means confined to the Christmas season. In order to have the best campaign possible, you need to keep the season in mind at all times of the year. Here are a few tips for better integrating seasonal marketing efforts.

Run Seasonal Promotions

If summer is your peak season, you can’t expect to charge the same rates in December as you would in June. Besides adjusting your rates, you also need to take additional steps to attract customers. If, for example, you run a vacation home you can offer incentives like complimentary transfers from the airport in January.

A perfect example of this is the Black Friday promotion we see every holiday season. On the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. (fourth Thursday of November), retailers offer all sorts of goods at steep discounts. In 2013, Black Friday sales amounted to over $60 billion!

Black Friday occurs shortly before Christmas, giving shoppers a chance to buy their presents early and with a discount. So, this is the perfect time to push the sales.

Understand The Value Of Content

Content marketing has been heralded as the future of marketing. Customers are spending more of their time online where they read blog posts and browse social media. Instead of using content to simply sell your products, you can tailor it to provide seasonal marketing tips. If you’re a car rental service, you can write a blog post giving winter driving tips. Similarly, if you’re an organic foods company, you can write an article about how certain foods and nutrients combat seasonal affective disorder. While this kind of marketing may not give you an immediate increase in business, it will build trust and loyalty in your brand from customers who are interested in the added value you provide.

Stock Products Appropriate For The Season

It’s not likely that you’ll see winter coats in a department store in July. If you do, then that company is wasting shelf space. Although it may seem obvious, it’s surprising how many businesses fail to really change with the seasons, and stock appropriate products and services. Even if you’re an office supply company, you can still stock seasonal themed products such as shamrock stickers in March and Americana stationary in July. You also want to make sure you have enough of the products that are popular in certain seasons.

Pay Attention To The Off Season

Virtually every business has a peak and an off season. Chances are you’ll be guaranteed at least some business in the peak season. In the off season, though, you need to work harder to turn a profit. Say, for example, you own a vacation home. You’ll almost always be booked in the summer, but you may be hurting for business mid-February. However, that doesn’t mean you have to make all of your year’s income during the warmer months. You just have to work a little harder the rest of the year. During this period you need to offer greater incentives for customers to use your products or services.

Keep your marketing fresh and interesting by keeping the different seasons in mind when planning campaigns.

Read more: Does Your Brand Change For The Season?