Five summer marketing ideas for small businesses
We’ve had beautiful weather here in Surrey recently, reminding us that summer offers lots of different opportunities to market our businesses. In the warm weather, we all go outside more and a spirit of optimism shines through our social media posts. B2C businesses are often busy in the summer, while B2B businesses provide great support to each other during the traditionally quiet months of July and August. With the right marketing methods, there is potential to expand these areas of our businesses.
Brilliantly, this summer mood and seasonal opportunity can be turned into some fresh new marketing material. Read on for some ideas!
- Update your messages – why do clients need your business during the summer months?
If you sell barbecues, it’s a no-brainer. But what if you offer business support, like Get Ahead does, or, for example, you’re a recruitment consultant? There will be a reason why people need your services during their own quiet period. For example, many businesses owners outsource their phone answering to us while they are away on holiday, so that’s an important service for Get Ahead to market at the moment. If you’re a recruitment consultant, clients might need you to find new starters whom they can onboard over summer when the office is quiet.
Whatever you offer, think about what makes your service important now, and incorporate those messages into your summer marketing.
- Create a summer special offer
Now that you’ve thought about the key messages to share in July and August, you might be able to turn them into a special offer. You could promote a popular service – if enough people use it, you might be able to pass the economy of scale onto your clients. Alternatively, you could promote a service that goes quiet over summer, to remind people it is still available. You might even win some new clients for September and beyond!
- Get the right feel on your social media pages
You might have created a busy buzz on your social media pages while you were dashing around in the spring, but for many business, summer has a different feel. Sharing pictures of you and your team outside or enjoying working lunches in the sunshine tap into this brighter mood. Sunshine and blue sky makes us all feel happier – show your clients you relate to their experiences with some upbeat summer posts.
- Sponsor a summer event
As the world gradually opens up again, we are looking forward to more outdoor summer events. Sponsorship from a local business can make a big difference to community events, as well as being a great opportunity to advertise.
- Use outdoor advertising
With more potential clients and customers heading outside, put your advertising material where they’ll see it! Most print shops offer big outdoor banners that you can hang on the outside of buildings or even across the street. Flags are also very effective. If you choose to sponsor an event (see above), flags will be an eye-catching addition to your stand.
Even if you intend to have a quiet summer, it’s still important to keep marketing your business. You’ll want to be as busy in the autumn as you were in the spring, so remember to keep your name in your customers’ minds. And if you need any fresh input for your marketing strategy, Get Ahead can help. You can call us on 01483 332 220 to get started.
PS – if you found this blog helpful, you might also like:
10 realistic social media ideas for small businesses
5 unconventional marketing ideas to try
