Advertisement Ideas: A Cure For The Summer Time Blues!!!
Living in South Florida for over 40 years I have heard the excuse from many business owners oh it is the summer and things slow down so I don’t advertise or sponsor things in the summer. I even heard this excuse when I worked at Forum Publishing Group as the culture was oh the summer is our slow season. I have been and still am perplexed by this attitude as the summer can be a time to capitalize on many opportunities and every business whether a brick and mortar business or home based business can thrive over the summer if they plan their work and work their plan by being proactive in the marketplace.
School is out and that means parents looking for things to do with their kids so if you have a business like a bowling center, a Gymboree, or other activities oriented programs this is when you should be advertising your mommy and me programs, daddy and me programs, Grandma and Grandpa and me programs. Think of ways you can create an experience for your clients/customers. If you are a life coach perhaps meet your client at their house so they don’t have to worry about finding someone to watch their kids of maybe you partner with someone you trust and offer a supervised activity for the kids at your office or close to the office. In being proactive you can increase your cash flow by simply doing things that your competition is not doing. If you are holding workshops include a kids component and bring in facilitators to work with the kids and you can make a family plan program.
The summer means the 4th of July which can be very lucrative in promoting your business. Most every city does a parade and fireworks and has opportunities for vendors. I use the 4th of July to kick off my fundraising activities for The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of West Boca Raton. I go to my communities parade with canisters and literature and seek donations. I also bring plenty of my business cards as you never know who you might meet. The 4th of July also gives you an opportunity to advertise your support of veteran related charities and to tie a promotion to the 4th of July where a charity like Wounded Warriors or The VFW gets a percentage from sales. The 4th of July is also a big day for NASCAR so perhaps doing a promotion where your clients/customer receive a NASCAR item or an entry in a drawing to win a NASCAR Item.
The end of the summer means Back To School and the start of Football Season. The key is to develop a campaign that will resonate with your target audience while encompassing in football and back to school. Let’s say you have a clothing line you could promote go back to school in style with ______________ or Are you ready for some football wear your team colors make a purchase at ___________________________. Every single business can come up with a theme designed around back to school or football.
In business you can make summer a very profitable season if you embrace it and learn to love the summer months. Summer is a great time to promote savings, close-outs, and special programs. When I worked in The Bowling Business as a Sales Manager I implemented a summer program where we gave out coupon cards to our local elementary schools that entitled every student to one free game of bowling. Where we made our money was on the shoe rental at $2.75 per pair and in the arcade. The key was get the kids in with the parents, give them a good experience, and have them come back. I trained the staff to promote our Parent/Kid League, our Saturday Kid’s Leagues and our Birthday Parties. I made it a point to get back to the bowling center in the afternoon and go lane to lane to make sure everyone was having a good time and asked questions such as if they owned a business or worked for a business because if they said yes I set up a free bowling party for them. This strategy led to the bowling center having record profits. The lesson is to stop making excuses like oh it is the summer and to be proactive and get yourself some summer loving.
Cure your summer time blues by making it a priority to market and advertise your business this summer by finding ways to monetize everything. Make a daily plan this summer for your businesses to be seen daily. Namaste!!!
