5 reasons to grow your marketing strategy in the summer

Summer is the time for lazing around the pool and sipping cocktails on a patio… right? You’re not supposed to work as hard during the summer as the rest of the year… right? People don’t care about marketing during the summer… right?

Wrong. And if you own your own business or you are in charge of marketing for a brand, it is even more wrong. One of the most common questions we get leading up to the summer months is “can we cut back on our marketing for the summer? We’re not that busy.”

Investing in your business can be scary if you’re not seeing immediate returns, but here are 5 reasons why you should continue growing your marketing strategy throughout the summer months.

STEAL THE SPOTLIGHT

If you were considering cutting back on your summer marketing strategy, how many of your competitors are doing the same thing? While they are focused on vacations and shorter hours, if you put the work in you could potentially steal some of the market share during the summer months. It gives you a prime opportunity to stand out because other businesses are going dark.

DON’T BREAK MOMENTUM

A successful marketing strategy needs to maintain consistency so target audiences can know what to expect. You have done the work to build up your strategy, so why would you want to start from scratch in the fall? Granted, you might not start from zero, but you will definitely lose out on the connection to your audience that you have worked so hard to build. Instead, you’ll waste your time and money to give up what you have already accomplished.

If you keep connected throughout the summer months, even if you change the way you communicate to something less formal, then you will maintain your strong relationships throughout the entire year.

GIVES YOU A CHANCE TO TRY SOMETHING NEW

If you are open to changing things up during the summer months because your audience’s behaviour changes, use the opportunity to try something new. Try something you wouldn’t have tried before. If this new strategy is wildly successful, then you can add it to your regular repertoire.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE WEATHER

One of the great things about the summer months is that the weather makes it easy to be outside. As an organization you have the opportunity to do experiential marketing and other events where you can bypass the cost of an expensive venue rental. You do need to make sure you have all of the proper permits (where necessary), but find ways to connect with your target audience outside. Think about it… who doesn’t like ice cream as an ice breaker?

CONNECT WITH VACATION STRAGGLERS

People might be on vacation, but not everyone goes away. Catch your target audiences who opt to stay home while their friends are away. They will be looking for great summer experiences. You can be a part of creating those experiences by either putting together contests with great summer-themed prizing or partnering up with a group of complementary brands to offer an ultimate prize like a trip. Whatever you decide to do, make sure you are laying the groundwork for long-term customer relationships.

While it can be tempting to hit the brakes on your marketing strategy in the summer, it is really a time where you should be focusing on growing your strategy to keep up momentum. If you are having trouble making your summer marketing work, give us a call and we can help you!