1. Review Your Business Goals and Objectives
If summer is a slower time for your business, take a few days to review your business goals and set new objectives. Work with your staff to gather as much input as possible to think of new ways to drive sales, reexamine company goals for the rest of the year and evaluate your company's performance from the start of the year until now. Are you on track? Where can you improve? Can you cut costs? Have you reached the goals you set earlier in the year? Explore tapping into a new demographic, creating a new product or service, or improving upon existing products/services. A little reflection goes a long way!
2. Plan Ahead
Now is the perfect time to plan for the fall and winter. This will allow you to utilize these slower months for extensive research and gain feedback on your ideas. Do you want to have a contest for Back to School season? What about other holidays - Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas etc.? What can you do now to plan for the upcoming months? Once you have your campaign idea or a new approach, make sure you keep your customers in the know. This will create anticipation and build interest in what’s to come. Try planning something that involves user generated content. This will encourage your customers to engage with the brand, and allows you to monitor its success throughout the process.
3. Launch a Summer Sale or Promotion
This is a great time to spice things up and have a sale! Once you decide on what sale you want to enact, create graphics and advertise on social media, your blog, website and send out an email campaign. Whatever route you chose, make sure you stay active in order to maintain the promotion throughout its lifecycle.
4. Throw An Open House or Event
Another great way to boost sales and bring in customers is to host an event at your business. This could consist of showcasing your current products, or launching a new one. This allows you to draw in customers and create a community with office tenants or local companies around your business. With your event or open house, you can create gift bags, have food, music, and drinks! As always, don't forget to advertise your event by posting on social media, emailing invitations, creating and Eventbrite page, contacting local newspapers for press etc. Any type of event also gives you an excuse to create a buzz on social media or another media platform, which will continue to spread awareness about your business and pay off in the long run.
5. Collaborate with a Local Brand
What better way to boost sales than to work with another local brand? This allows both of your business to combine your audiences, and give your customers something to be excited about. Now is the perfect time to approach a brand you admire and one whose aesthetic matches your own about collaborating on an event, product, sale, giveaways etc. Think of ways both brands can mutually benefit. Can you work on a social media campaign where your brand gives a shout out on their products and vice versa? Combine resources and be creative!
