During the critical summer months, you may find your business sales start to decrease. However, there are a range of tactics you can employ to maintain or even increase your sales during summer.
It's more than likely that your audience will have more free time during the summer months than any other time.
If you can win them over now, you'll not just improve your short-term sales; you'll set yourself up for a highly successful fourth quarter.
Here are six great tips for boosting business sales during summer.
Review Your Business Goals and Objectives
If sales are drying up, it's an ideal time to review your business goals and look at setting new objectives. It's essential to get as much input as possible from your key staff members during this time, so try booking an external venue with your key staff members, ideally before the summer months.
Use this time wisely and review the areas that drive the most profits in your business. It may be time to shift focus, or it may be time for a new approach altogether. Don't be afraid to ask for input and listen carefully to what everyone has to say. You may just be overlooking something you hadn't considered before.
At the very least, you should try to brainstorm some new ideas to boost income streams, as well as honing your most successful products. Here are some questions you should be asking:
- Could additional products be developed to sell to existing customers?
- Are there any untapped demographics of potential customers that we should try and focus on to increase sales?
- Are there any more current products that we could sell to our existing customers?
If you're struggling at all, you may find the Ansoff Matrix particularly useful. It was developed by a leading Russian Mathematician as a means of increasing profits over the long-term.
Alternatively, you could use one of our tested ready made business plans. With a business plan available for almost every business type out there, you're sure to find one that is suitable for you. You could even use one of our plans for comparative purposes, and it may just help you spot some areas you have overlooked.
Plan Ahead and Avoid Sales Gaps
Careful planning can help you avoid summer sales gaps altogether. Are you expecting revenues to decrease during the middle of the year? Then a good idea is to plan ahead.
If you have decided on a campaign or promotion during this period, make sure you have the communications, sales structure and fine details ready at least three months before they are due to be implemented. This way, you'll be able to hit the ground running and you won't have to deal with the stress associated with leaving things until the last minute.
By planning ahead, you'll also have plenty of time to carry out research, which could prove truly invaluable. Use the time to get plenty of feedback on your ideas. You may even consider targeting a different customer segment altogether.
Let's take an example to illustrate this point; say an airline has mostly commercial customers, and during the summer months demand decreases. A coping strategy could be to target the leisure sector to improve load factors, as demand in that sector is more consistent throughout the year. This may result in lower margins, but it's certainly better than making a loss on every single flight.
You could also think about carrying out surveys to aid you in your efforts. You may think your summer promotion is fantastic, but will your customers think the same? Take time to refine your ideas until you're certain they'll be effective and well received.
Once you've decided on your plan, be sure to communicate with your customers and keep them in the loop. By doing this effectively, you can build interest and anticipation in what you have planned. Think about unique ways to give customers a 'hint' of what's to come and get people talking.
Don't forget that these tips are applicable all year round.
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