As fall comes closer and closer many entrepreneurs are beginning to start prepping for the busiest season of the year. the holiday season. With the holiday season, comes an upswing in sales, new clients, and revenue is through the roof. unfortunately, for most businesses that doesn’t last. After the holiday season, many businesses see a deep drop in sales leaving them with a lot of time on their hands. This is a pressing issue for many businesses so after talking and strategizing with one of our clients about this topic we wanted to give some tips for what any business can do to grow their business using off-season marketing. So without further ado, here are 9 things you should do to grow your business in the off-season.
Finden Tip #1 Change social media with the seasons
Changing what you post on your social media for the season is one of the easiest ways to stand out. This creates a natural flow for your consumers and makes you look a lot more professional. A great example of this is our friends over at the Glensheen Mansion. As you can see below they play constant themes throughout their posting.
You can tell that every season has its own distinct color pattern that puts it together. Winter is themed with that white and gold (top left). Spring (top right) is blue and green. Summer (bottom left) is blue and brown. Lastly, fall (bottom right) is the golden color we all know and love.
This isn’t reserved for only giant mansions or thrilling attractions your business can do it with anything. If you are a lawn and snow company have your theme be lawn in the spring and summer with fall and winter dedicated to snow. For us, at Finden, we have broken ours down into months. Each month we showcase a different service and have seen great success. Make sure to check out Glensheen and click here to see their Instagram.
Finden Tip #2 Refine your social media marketing
While you have all this time in your slow season, research and tinker around with social media posting. Try something new, research what competitors are doing, and how your business can stand out during your peak season. This can be the most challenging aspect of someone’s business when they’re busy so take a slow time and really look into what works for you. The better you get at your social media marketing the more you may find your peak season gets longer and longer. off-season marketing is one of the most important aspects of staying relevant. Even though a consumer might not need lawn care in the winter they may be talking about it to a friend and the goal is to always have your business come to mind first.
Finden Tip #3 Get caught up on blogs & content creation
During your busy season blogs, and creative content may be the last priority on your long list of things to do. When a business starts to slow down take some time to write 10-12 blogs for when the season starts to pick up again. This allows you to easily keep a good flow of content going during your peak season. We recommend making a calendar with either weekly or biweekly blogs to help keep track of all that needs to be done. Personally, Finden has all of our blogs named until the end of 2022 so that we don’t have to spend time picking a title. Rather this allows us to go and write whenever we have a spark of creativity. To learn more about our blogs check out this link.
Finden Tip #4 Take this extra time to look at what is and isn’t working
The busy season can easily take a toll on many entrepreneurs leaving most burnt out, and hoping for some much-needed R&R. In the slow season use that R&R to play on your phone and check out what your competitors are doing, posting, and selling. Use this information to see where your business can stand out and get set for the peak season. Curious about what social media your business should be on? Check out our previous blog on the best social media channels to unlock huge business growth.
Finden Tip #5 Reach out to your pipeline
If you’re anything like me you have probably said the phrase “I’ll reach out when I’m less busy”. Well, this is the time to do it. Take advantage of the slowness and start chatting with all of those potential clients (even though they may not buy). It at least gets your brand in their head once the season starts to pick back up.
Finden Tip #6 Contact your past clients and ask for reviews & testimonials
This is another great example of “I’ll do it when I’m less busy”. Using this slow time to chat with past clients, create reports, and finally getting them to write a review is a great way to grow your business with little to no work on your part. This keeps you relevant in the lives of your clients and gets you more street cred when looking to gain new clients/customers.
Finden Tip #7 Look into what your competition does during their offseason
A big question you should ask yourself every slow season is “what do my competitors do during this time?”. This allows you to see what to add to your business to keep your peak time more prosperous. If your competitor offers a special during the slow season that keeps business booming then find something that has the same flair. Competitors are great resources to see what works and what doesn’t in your line of work. Just be aware there are many factors that play into a winning scenario so just because your competitor has success doesn’t mean you will. Look at your brand and what your company is really really good at and see where you can grow from there.
Finden Tip #8 Research and target places that could still use your product
This tip is mainly aimed towards products rather than services, but services can do it just the same. Our team had been chatting with a fishing company helping them strategize their marketing and online presence. After much discussion, they had brought up that they wanted to grow their sales in their off-season and couldn’t figure out how since there is so much snow in Minnesota. This led to the obvious question of “well should we try somewhere warmer?”. As e-commerce grows your company can sell its product around the world and should be marketing accordingly. if you sell fishing gear (like our client) spring and summer should be your focus for Minnesota fishing while the other seasons should focus on the lower warmer states. This allows your company to grow in the offseason and opens up an entirely new market for your business.
On the service side of things, there are two big options 1) move to a place that still needs your service and open a second branch in a target area during the time where yours are slow at the “main branch”. 2) add a service that people need and fits within your wheelhouse. The easiest example is a lawn maintenance company transforming into a snow removal company in the winter. This allows your company to do work all year round and keeps you from having to move across the country every year to keep your business alive.
Finden Tip #9 Prep for the next year
The last tip on this list is the most important by far. prepping and strategizing for your next year can be the difference between a staple year and a dud. Take time to create a business plan, marketing plan, and strategic plan for your business. This will allow you to set your business up for success and gives you the ability to get all the irons in the fire before the season starts. Want to learn more about how to do this? reach out to andrew@findenmarketing.com to set up a free consultation.
Want to learn more about how you can stand out? Finden Marketing is Duluth, Minnesota’s leading Gen Z & Millennial marketing agency. We offer a wide range of services, including PR, Branding, Content Creation, Paid Media, Graphic Design, and Web Development. With over 30 projects in the bag, Finden Marketing is becoming a staple marketing agency in Duluth, Minnesota. To learn more about Finden Marketing, check us out here, or visit us at our office in Duluth, Minnesota.
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