Struggling to come up with a way to get your name, brand, and business in front of customers? It’s important to keep your business top of mind for customers year-round, so that you’re the first provider they think of when they DO need your product or services. We’ve all been there, especially if the product or service we provide is seasonal in nature.
In case you haven’t been paying attention to the hundreds of emails you get, commercials you watch, and ads you see promoting holidays like Christmas or Mother’s Day, there are also about a billion other holidays, awareness months and days, and just plain wacky days to celebrate just about anything you could think of – National Doughnut Day anyone?
There are also events that are easy to play off to show awareness and engagement. The World Cup had massive engagement around the world earlier this summer, and was a great opportunity for marketing, promotion, and advertising here in the U.S., especially if there was a natural tie-in to the tournament for businesses. With the political campaign season really starting to ramp up as we head into fall, just about any business can do a ‘vote’ campaign for their products or services to raise awareness.
When you start paying attention to the things happening around you or do a little digging for the more obscure events, it opens whole new opportunities to promote your business.
Staying present when your services are seasonal.
It is important for seasonal businesses to stay present during their slow times, especially if they aren’t providing recurring services that create an established client list. Customers will be proactively thinking of you before they need your product or service and can secure their spot on your schedule during slower times, allowing you to focus on providing a good product or service during your peak business times instead of trying to secure customers. This can also help build trust in your community; customers will think of you first in circumstances where fly-by-night or traveling companies pop up like weeds to serve high demand situations (hail and dent repair companies in the Midwest after severe storms in spring are a great example!)
Show awareness and sensitivity to your customers’ preferences.
Major holidays are great for running promotions or sales, though those holidays may not be observed by everyone or can be triggering. While promoting your business in conjunction with those holidays can be a great way to remind people about your products or services, providing people with a way to opt out of specific communications shows awareness and sensitivity and can help you avoid losing the opportunity to email the recipient altogether.
Find something that ties into your business.
If there’s a holiday, awareness month or day, or event that complement what your company or organization does, take advantage of it to promote your business, especially if it occurs in a slow part of your sales cycle. A natural fit makes your marketing look authentic and intentional. Many health care organizations lean into this in February for heart health or in October for breast cancer awareness, for example.
Don’t know more than major holidays? There are plenty of sites you can visit to get ideas, including https://www.awarenessdays.com/
Have fun on social media.
On social media you can jump on things that are going viral, creating memes and posts that tie into your business while showing your business (or at least the person running your social media accounts) is aware of current events.
One of the most famous examples of this comes from years ago when Oreo responded quickly, cleverly, and relevantly to a power outage that occurred at the Super Dome during the Super Bowl.
This works best if you can find a way to tie it to your business, but it may not be appropriate for everyone depending on their brand identity. It’s a great way to have fun with your followers while promoting what you do without making a post too sales oriented. There are online meme generators available so you don’t have to spend a lot of time creating something – in fact, something too polished might actually miss the mark in some situations.
Make it personal.
Sometimes something may not seem like a natural fit for your business, but if you can connect it to a cause or achievement of one of your employees or board members, you can make a connection that shows your commitment to your team members and the greater good of your community. Many people give their time and support to these causes because it’s deeply personal to them, but many of those people would also be thrilled to have their place of work get behind their efforts and raise awareness and funds to support it. Supporting your employees, causes, and your local community isn’t just an opportunity for marketing, it’s good press for your business, and it’s increasingly something that people look at when deciding where they buy products from or who they do business with.
Do it as a Public Service Announcement (PSA).
Let’s face it, there are times when there’s no natural fit. But if you focus on valuing a customer as more than just potential sales, you can still get your brand out there. September is National Preparedness Month, which is a great time to remind people to be ready in the event of an emergency and show you care about their safety and wellbeing. But just because the focus of your campaign is altruistic in nature doesn’t mean you can’t put your company’s logo on the first aid kit or flashlight you give them to promote preparedness!
Show the human side of your business.
Many people feel a deeper connection to a brand, business, or company when they see the very real people that keep the lights on and orders filled every day, AKA, your employees. As AI continues to evolve and take on tasks like never before, sharing the human side of your business becomes more important than ever, because it shows you value people. This isn’t always a natural fit in traditional advertising, but it is a great fit on your social media platforms, on your company website, and any communications or emails you send out to your customers, and it helps support your other marketing efforts.
As a full-service print, mail, and promotional shop, Broadstroke can help you get in front of your customers, no matter the occasion or time of year. Reach out and we’ll help you get started.
