5 Marketing Strategies for Seasonal Businesses
Seasonal businesses are completely different from the other types of businesses that are constantly generating revenues no matter which season is it. A person doing a seasonal business can generate hefty amounts when the season is at the peak, but he has to earn enough so that he cannot face trouble in the off-season. Doing a seasonal business does not mean that the businessmen are free in the off-season. These businessmen make all the strategies and planning in the off-season so that they can easily hit the target during the peak season.
There are a number of marketing strategies that people with seasonal business use. In this article, we will discuss five of them. These are:
Table of Contents
Planning the SEO and content marketing strategy
Search engine optimization is a long-term thing and it is primarily done to increase your ranking. We all know that none of the businesses can increase their rank in one day. It takes a lot of time and effort to be on the top list of Google. Some well-known brands of the world make their yearly plans for SEO. Thus, it is imperative to make SEO plans in the off-season and start working on it. During the season when sales are higher, we can never get the time to boost our SEO and by the time our ranking gets higher, the season is over. Thus, it is ideal to start working on your SEO during the low season.
The same goes for the content marketing strategy. Selecting the best topics for your content and then generating content on those topics is not simple. The content team needs to do research before writing on any topic. This research is also done on keywords. Even the best content strategy cannot give results in a week. It takes time and requires consistency. Look at how the competitors are using their content strategy. They start focusing it on their low season to reap the benefits in the high season. It is recommended to double the investment in SEO and content marketing during the off-season.
Working on the website during the off-season
If you have done well with your SEO and content strategy, you are successful in driving traffic towards your website. But, what if your website is not up to the market. Your hard work will go in vain if the website is unable to make conversions.
Today, customers want ease and convenience. If a customer finds it difficult to book an appointment through your website they will definitely switch towards the competitor’s website. So, it is ideal to invest time on your website during the off-season. Analyze your website and see if it is up to the mark or not. There is no use in having a website that cannot generate leads. When the season is low, you can check your competitor’s website and see what strategies they are using. You can bring alterations to your website as per it. Make sure that your website provides an amazing user experience and it has a good load time. When the season is high, the traffic is also high and your website should be able to load quickly otherwise there are high chances for you to lose customers.
Making the best use of social media campaigns
Social media is something that keeps you connected with your customers. You can never boost connections in your high season because people will be looking for trustable names in this season. They will never trust any brand which is new to them.
To keep your brand in the limelight and to build relationships with your customers, it is imperative to stay active on social media irrespective of the season. For instance, a sweater shop for kids remains active on social media in every season. The demand for a sweater is only in winters but the shop keeps a good connection with their customers. They keep on posting about the other small accessories of kids that they have in their shop. They arrange different contests and announce giveaways.
Thus, it is important to stay in connection with your customers and boost your campaigns when the peak season is about to start so that the brand can stay alive in the minds of potential customers.
Giving a special off-season discount
The strategy of giving an off-season discount is commendable. Some people prefer to shop in the off-season so that they can save big due to discounts. When there is a peak season, the demand is higher and so are the prices. Thus, an off-season discount is always ideal for smart customers.
For instance, a summer clothing store posted about a flat 50% off on men’s wear during winter. The shop posted that it is the biggest discount of the year. Such types of discounts are also given before special events like cultural festivals and holy festivals. However, the percentage of discount in the off-season is always higher. This makes the customer purchase things in the off-season rather than waiting for a special event discount offer. These discounts are given to clear the stock and to earn something rather than nothing.
Creating an alternate purpose of your offering
Many seasonal businesses repurpose their service or product to create a new demand when the season is low. For instance, a travel agency offers a tour package to Ski Holidays St Anton on vacations. This package is high in demand when winter vacations are going on. This tour is popular because of the skiing and snowboarding in the peak season. During their off-season, they market their service with hiking and mountain biking. Though these activities do not generate much profit, they are enough to keep them at break-even.
Thus, seasonal businesses can boost their sales dramatically in their high season but for that, they need to plan beforehand. Apart from it, they also need to make a few strategies to maintain their business in the low season so that they cannot face loss. These five strategies can definitely help a seasonal business in maintaining its position in the market.
Some of the link on this post may have affiliate links attached. Read the FTC Disclaimer.