If your sales take a major hit during the summer, now is the time to make & implement a plan to weather the “summer sales storm”. As a business owner, you want to know how to combat the seasonal income fluctuations. These are a few of the priorities to look at implementing to help you maximize the time and also continue to bring in leads & sales.

Setting up a social media contest is an excellent strategy to generate buzz during a sluggish period in the sales cycle of a summer slowdown. A social media giveaway is not only a terrific method to engage customers & increase page visits, but it also builds goodwill for your company. Incorporate the summer season into your contest while tailoring it to reflect the type of business you run for the best outcomes.

For example, clothing retailers can run a contest for viewers with a “best caption wins” photo of a branded product. While a resort business can off a discount for a “throw back then & now” contest where people can submit a video of themselves now that leads up to taking a still shot of the “now” recreating the “then” photo; these have been very popular recently on social media.

Because Facebook & Instagram are popular year-round, company owners can be sure that social media posts will help them reach a larger audience and, perhaps, increase sales.

When sales are slow during the summer, business are inclined to lower their prices on many products. Unfortunately, lowering your prices also lowers your company’s profitability during the summer slowdown. Rather than selling items for less than they’re worth in order to save on costs, increase the realized value of your products & services to persuade customers to buy.

For instance, with a total purchase of $30 or more at a sporting goods store, you can choose to give free branded items such as gym bags or water bottles. These branded free gifts are not only effective marketing tools, but they also increase customer loyalty and returning customer purchases.

Partnering with another company can be a wonderful strategy for both sides to increase revenue. You might want to try working with companies that are busy during the summer months, like a travel agency or a tour guide business, because people are typically ready to travel during the hot summer months.

Customers that spend $25 at your business can receive a $25 credit from your partner and vise versa. These deals not only encourage customers to visit both businesses, but they also provide each company with exposure to a demographic it may not otherwise reach in the summer slowdown season.

Maybe it’s time to refresh or update your brand. You’ve been around for a while now, and you usually want to review your brand every 2-4 years. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to do a complete overhaul of your brand identity, it could be just a slogan or tagline change, a revamped logo, or even only updating the brand colors.

You can post a social media poll or ask what followers love or not love about your brand and take notes and cues if it’s time for a refresh or update. This can also be incorporated with the before mentioned social media contest where people can submit suggestions and the winner chosen that has their design or suggestion incorporated gets a valued prize.

It’s a good idea to check and update your branding on a regular basis to ensure that it aligns with both your company’s objective and the requirements and concerns of your target market.

As a business owner, you set the tone & pace for your employees and company. Even though the term “summer slowdown” is a well known phrase and season, you want to avoid using terms like “slump” or “slowdown”. Keep a positive outlook and plan summer activities for your staff to readjust everyone’s focus and increase your team’s confidence.

Here at The AD Leaf, we can help you adjust and navigate the summer months in order to come out ahead. Minimize the summer stress and maximize your summer profits; be ready for a stronger post summer season going into the Fall holiday season. Connect with us by phone at 321-255-0900 or email info@theadleaf.com, so we can get you going in the right direction to conquer your summer.