How to Quickly Maximise Your Marketing Strategy This Summer
By News & Articles

“How to Quickly Maximise Your Marketing Strategy This Summer” by Jack Teare

The vaccine rollout is well underway, and the sun is shining more often than not – it’s a hopeful time, and it all adds up to a summer of customers rediscovering the stores and local businesses around them. To help you make the most of these positive times after a hard year, here are some tips:

  1. Local print distribution and the Vacay crowds
  2. Customer events and lead generation
  3. Get topical with your products and advertising campaigns
  4. Support the community and increase your market penetration

Local Print Distribution and the Vacay Crowds

Travelling abroad isn’t as accessible as in previous years, so instead, you’re likely to see more people holidaying locally or within a few hours’ drive of home. These staycationers will bring with them an influx of business, so it’s key to maximise the opportunity.

  • Give them a reason to stop by your storefront. For example, offer summer discounts and free samples – don’t forget to advertise that with posters and signage.
  • Be visible online. Ensure your ‘Google My Business’ listing is all up to date with offers and opening hours. You could even add in the special events you have coming up for them to see when they search.
  • Advertise in press and print. Post a couple of ads in special seasonal publications like tourist information books to reach the holiday crowd. You could also ask other local businesses if they will let you leave some flyers or posters in their store to drum up additional business, and you can do the same for them too. That way there’s only a print cost, and you’re networking and connecting with other local businesses too.
  • Get curb appeal. Customers love to browse – if someone can walk into a shop, buy what they need and leave without looking at anything else, then we salute them, but most of us like to look around. Why not entice people into or near your store with a sidewalk sale? You can place seasonal items on dressed tables outside your store to encourage passers-by to take a peek. Don’t forget the man it and have plenty of signage about instore items too.

Customer Events and Lead Generation

While tourist crowds are valuable, you can’t forget your already local and loyal customer base who are there all year round. They are your bread and butter and deserve some recognition and appreciation from you in return. Some companies do this every year and call it Customer Appreciation Day.

  • Customer-only events and experiences. This could be anything from an exclusive sneak peek at the new ranges coming in, to a coffee morning or even a freebie day where each existing customer gets something from the store for free. Just make sure the item is affordable to give you a good return on investment. You can also use this as a catalyst for lead generation in the weeks prior by advertising the upcoming event and telling people how to gain access.
  • Schools’ out activities for the younger ones. Summer holidays are a thing, so (if your business is in line with it) put on events or workshops for kids. Eg. Cooking lessons for kids and their parents, how-to craft workshops, anything your business can do to show you care about all members of the family.
  • Thanking your elders. You can’t forget the older generation who engage with your business too – there are silver surfers and elderly browsers galore. Similarly to the kids’ opportunities, try and initiate workshops and classes aimed at your older audience too – things like cooking classes, computer workshops, financial guidance, etc.

Get Topical with Your Products and Advertising Campaign

Summer is all about sunshine, holidays and enjoying some relaxing time off, so make the most of that.

  • Summer stock. Launch special summer-only products like foods, drinks, clothes and accessories.
  • Summer content. If you can’t sell any summer-specific stock, fill your website with content marketing about holiday insurance, the best local places to visit, day trips, summer recipes and more. Just get involved with the topic.
  • Summer advertising. Similarly, make your print ads and social network advertising seasonal to reflect what your customers are thinking about.

Support the Community and Increase Your Market Penetration

To increase your brand awareness in the local area, getting involved in community events is invaluable. 

  • Take part in summer events. This could be anything from sponsoring a local fun run to advertising at a fair or organising a pop-up market – showing your support for these events (and possibly taking part in them as well) will increase your exposure with the local crowd. This sort of involvement shows you care about the things that they do and generates positive opinions. These feelings can increase your market share as research shows 89% of shoppers stay loyal to brands that share their values.
    You can also use these events to reach potential new customers through at-event marketing. For example, a restaurant could have a stall at the pop-up market serving refreshments, and for every sale, a customer can get a pre-stamped loyalty card to encourage them to visit the main branch.
  • Competition time. Everyone loves a freebie, it’s just a fact. You can take advantage of these events and community gatherings to have a competition, whether it’s a tombola, a scavenger hunt, a poetry competition or something else. Just make sure the prize is worth it and relevant to your business – e.g., a travel voucher, a gift basket of products, a waived fee.

Summer is a period full of life, sun and things to do, so get involved. Make the most of the opportunities on offer to change up your advertising campaigns, boost your print distribution and introduce new customer-focused activities to increase your market penetration and lead generation.