What is Seasonal Marketing?
If you look at the marketing strategies of the top companies in the world, they all share one common attribute: They have become effective at exploiting the seasonal cycles in their business. Seasonal marketing is a strategy designed to take advantage of trends and patterns. It could also be defined as a campaign that is designed to capitalize on the natural fluctuations in demand that occur in different seasons. Seasonal marketing is a popular way to boost sales and get your business geared up for the holidays. It is all about using the right time of year to boost your business. Whether you’re a small business or a large corporation, seasonal marketing can help you reach new customers and boost your bottom line. If you’re looking to increase your customer base or simply prepare for the busiest time of the year, read on for everything you need to know and take advantage of for your success.
Why do businesses use seasonal marketing?
It is natural for people to want to purchase products in season. This is because seasonal products are typically more affordable, they often have a wider range of flavors and aromas that are unique to that particular season. Seasonal marketing can create a sense of urgency, encouraging customers to buy before supplies run out.
Seasonal marketing campaigns are tailor-made for consumers in each specific season. This means that marketers can create ads and materials that are specific to the needs of consumers in that season.
Very often these campaigns are more effective when they are tailored to the geographic location of the consumer. This means that opportunities for making customized promos are created to target specific demographics or markets that are more likely to purchase during certain times of the year.
Marketing is both a strategic and creative undertaking, every season or celebration offers a fresh prospect and can help your overall marketing strategy.
Seasonal marketing can help businesses connect with their customers on a deeper level as well as create a sense of community and shared experience. It helps you engage emotionally with customers, maintain client loyalty, and increase the possibility of referrals and recommendations.
Whatever your reason, businesses across a variety of industries use seasonal marketing to achieve their goals. With the proper planning and execution, your business can too.
What do the four seasons mean for marketing and sales?
As a business owner, it's important to be aware of the different seasons and how they can impact your marketing and sales efforts. Each season has its unique character and typically brings different weather patterns, holidays, and events. They also have unique opportunities and challenges for marketing and sales.
Spring
Spring is a time of new beginnings and fresh starts when people are coming out of winter hibernation and beginning to think about the year ahead. It is also a time when people are starting to think about summer plans. This makes it a good time to market products and services related to summer activities, as well as products that can help people get ahead in their lives or improve their well-being.
Summer
Summer is the period that ushers in lots of sunshine, relaxation, and colors. It is typically a busy time for businesses, as people are enjoying the warmer weather, and taking vacations with back-to-school shopping as well. During the summer months more people will be traveling for vacations so this means, tourists. This would be the best time to launch summer sales and discounts, appeal to tourists, hop on memorable days and events, and add more color and vibrancy to your social media or website.
Fall
Fall is the period of cooler weather, warm colors, falling leaves, and ripe pumpkins. Best of all, it's also the Halloween season. Include some fall colors in the visual style of your marketing materials, but be sure to maintain your brand identity. Don’t forget to add a little spook here and there for Halloween.
Winter
Winter is typically a slower time for businesses as people are busy with holidays and travel, and they’re staying indoors more due to the change in weather. However, if you sell products or services that are related to winter activities, this can be a busy time for you. Focus on and try to make winter holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas a big deal in your marketing strategy. Spread the message of goodwill, togetherness, and holiday cheer by promoting your goods and services that can help to commemorate the celebrations.
The secret to seasonal marketing is to get into the details of each season. Understanding them and their intricacies will help you draw up your marketing plan and calendar.
How to create a seasonal marketing plan:
Now that you know what seasonal marketing is, how the seasons can affect your business, and how to leverage them, let's look at how to create your seasonal marketing plan.
1. Review your previously executed holiday marketing campaigns
Examine prior marketing strategies, and learn what aspects of your approach succeeded and which didn't work. Leaving things alone or making little or significant changes as you see appropriate can enhance your performance and boost sales. Additionally, reviewing campaigns from prior years will help you spot and prevent past errors. Implementing past successful campaigns can also increase brand loyalty and rise the number of new clients who show interest in the offer.
2. Study the competition and add your original touch
Look closely at the goods or services you now provide and use your imagination. Compare them to your competition and think of creative, enjoyable ways to market and give them an edge. Which ones can you add a festive touch to? How can you position your marketing to go along with a certain season or well-liked holiday? For instance, you could create a campaign around the products you sell that would celebrate lovers on Valentine’s Day. Brainstorm and find unconventional, innovative ways to advertise your goods or services throughout the year.
3. Match social media content with the mood of the season
A successful seasonal marketing strategy will depend heavily on your social media content. The tone of your social, media channels during your marketing campaign needs to match that of the celebration. Your social media should follow the same strategy as whatever you advertise on your website, email list, blog, or other platforms. Your plan might not succeed even if your website is loaded with Christmas-themed marketing games and online advent calendars if your social media profiles don't capture the holiday spirit. So our seasonal marketing strategy must be consistent across all of your media outlets.
If done well, you can expect an increase in website traffic, a greater influx of new email subscribers, better consumer response, a rise in brand image and recognition, and increased enthusiasm towards your incentives.
4. Get seasonal relevant customer reviews
Customer feedback is social proof, and as such, it can increase your sales. Consumers trust recommendations from actual people over being sold to via ad campaigns. Find user reviews that are focused on relevant purchases and topics across the many seasons. For each season, include these on your product pages.
Seasonal reviews are written by satisfied consumers who have purchased one of your items and describe how they felt while using it or how it affected their holidays. When customers who are looking for something similar come across this, they are more inclined to buy it straight away.
As you can see, there is a lot of power in seasonal marketing. It is one of the best ways to expand your brand. What makes it such an effective tactic however is that people tend to buy more when they have a sale or are being offered discounts. It also keeps them engaged in your product and encourages them to come back for more. Using seasonal marketing can significantly boost your business’ sales but keep track of the right time frame and where you can use it most effectively.
Tracy Hanford, Founder and Brand Marketer
