Festivities are all around us with people getting more forgiving with their expenses to purchase costumes, accessories, decorations, food and holiday-related services. People are also buying online more than ever, which makes having an online presence even more important. For businesses that are still on the process of domain name search, time is of the essence!
Businesses that offer holiday goods and services see serious spikes during the winter months, just like resorts getting more business during the summer season. However, how do these seasonal businesses perform for the rest of the year?
Here are some of the tips you can use to thrive beyond the holidays:
Plan for the future. The future is all months after the holiday season. You need to make careful planning and budgeting. Track your expenses yearly and find ways to re-invest or branch out during slow months. Save as much as possible during high cash flow season and create spending limits quarterly.
Customize your marketing efforts. The customer market fluctuates expectedly so marketing strategies need to be adjusted. As a strategy, you can send loyal customers reminders to purchase in advance before the season to get discounts or avoid rushes and running out of stock. Even if they don’t purchase, you will still be in their mind when the season finally rolls in.
Put together special pre-season discounts once your initial reminder is out, offering your most tempting discounts and offers to keep your client’s loyal. During your off-season, also try to find ways to create demand by re-purposing your products. For instance, a flower shop owner can turn the store into an art gallery featuring floral arrangements during the winter when sales are down. Stores that sell Christmas decorations could create a “Christmas in July” campaign to raise both awareness and earn.
Even more important is to keep communications up by sending notifications through email updates, keeping content interesting. You can even offer tips on how to set up a perfect festive party or showcase a new product or service you’ll be offering during the next season.
Maintain good customer service. Keep customer base strong for the whole year by given excellent customer service. For instance, going above and beyond the call of duty to provide last-minute demands can win you a customer’s loyalty for life, because you showed them that they can count on you. Focus your resources on having extra phone and communication operators on standby to aid even on busy days or deal with any inquiries or complaints.
Flourish your community. Having a loyal fanbase in your neighborhood is good, but having an online fanbase is even better because of better reach. You can improve socializing by hosting or sponsoring community events during the off-season or by creating offers that match local interests and demands.
Seasonal businesses must find a way to get the most during high times, which makes having an online presence via a website necessary. If you’re keen on taking your business online, you can start by accomplishing domain name search and then registering it with a good hosting provider. Next come web design and development. Combined with social media integration, you’ll have a flexible marketing strategy that can generate revenue in the off-season.
That’s it! How about you, if you have a seasonal business, what other strategies do you use to stay afloat during the slow months?