All Businesses Have Seasons, It doesn’t matter what type of organization you’re running or even the industry you’re operating in, all businesses have seasons – they always have and they always will. The bottom line is that if you don’t anticipate and plan for your seasons, your marketing success will be limited. It doesn’t matter if that season is dictated by the calendar, the time of day, a week versus the weekend, a particular holiday or something else entirely. Summer and winter bring weather fluctuations, which means that HVAC companies get their time to shine for just one example. You must have a plan!
They key to your marketing success isn’t just to understand what these seasons are and how they related to you, but how they related to your customers as well. Then, you’ll be able to craft the best direct mail advertising campaigns to use these seasons as a strength instead of a weakness. But, be sure to allow enough time for planning and execution!
It All Begins With a Plan
To truly use your seasonal fluctuations as an advantage, you need to start planning well in advance of their actual arrival. Direct mail marketing campaigns aren’t created overnight, after all. If your industry hits a high period during Christmas, you need to start designing and finalizing those plastic postcard mailer promotions over the summer to make sure you’re ready when the time finally comes.
A Yearly Promotional Calendar is Invaluable
Once you’ve identified when your strong seasons actually take place, create a yearly promotional calendar and use it as a guide all year long. Not only will this give you time to properly address each season as it arrives, but you’ll always have a visual guide to refer to with regards to what is on the horizon. This time and perspective will help guarantee better, more organic promotions. Tip: Be sure to include start dates which allow enough time prior to the promotion to properly execute. Many marketeers use Gantt charts for project and marketing planning purposes. Gantt charts are also helpful as they are very visual, easy to read and allow for overlapping tasks.
Maximize Those Sales
At this point, you’ve recognized your seasons and have done what you can to plan in advance. Those are the two key ingredients necessary to maximize your sales offerings as much as possible. This is absolutely one of those areas where working with the right marketing partner can bring excellent results. Direct mail postcards are important, yes – but you don’t have to focus on creating them all on their own. Give your marketing partner all the research you’ve done and let them worry about designing your collateral so that you can worry about properly handling the massive amounts of traffic you’re about to enjoy.
If you’d like to find out more information about how to use seasonal fluctuations to the advantage of your business, or if you have any other questions you’d like to see answered, please don’t delay – contact us today.
