There comes that time, regardless of business or industry, when it is the off season. It does not really matter what services you offer or what products you sell, pretty much every business experiences those down times during the year when sales are just slower than normal. Using the off season as an opportunity to review and plan will allow you to, not only put some spark in your down time, but will allow you to hit the ground running once the season kicks in again.
- One of the most disastrous mistakes many small companies make during their slow cycle is to abandon their content creation and social media. Many business stop posting engaging content and almost go dark at their social media platforms. Your down time, your off season, is the the most opportune time to revamp your content and social media presence because you can take your time and produce the highest quality possible. You can’t afford to allow them to forget about you.
- Next, review every marketing strategy that you have put into place previous to your off season. Evaluate everything. What has been working? What hasn’t been working. Now is the time to shift and pivot as well as discard those strategies that haven’t been producing traffic and sales. Work out the bugs so that you will be ready to launch anew when the time comes.
- Discounts, special offers and bargains will keep the traffic flowing and keep you in the game during the slow periods. While you are at it, get out into the community and do some branding. You have the time now and it is an excellent opportunity to really connect with your community and your customers.
- Finally, take a look at your business as a whole. Where can you improve? Who is pulling their weight and who isn’t? Are there areas of your market or niche where you can actually expand? The down time, the off season, brings a multitude of opportunities to improve your business as well as to expand your branding efforts.
-Written by Kevin Sawyer
