Autumn’s here — and it only seems like five minutes since we were looking forward to summer. Give or take a few rainy bits, we’ve had a glorious summer, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Businesses can be seasonal, too. Whether or not their seasons have anything to do with the weather, it’s important to pay attention to them and respond to their different needs.
What Did You Do This Summer?
Summer is often a time when businesses mark time, especially over the school holidays. You may have distractions, including going on holiday or day outings (and if you don’t, maybe you should be looking at your work-life balance). And that will also be true of your employees, if you have them.
Of course, there are businesses where summer means ‘all hands on deck’ — anything to do with tourism or outdoor events, for instance. In general, though, early autumn is a time to reflect on the plans you put on hold over the summer, or maybe the issues that came up which you set aside to deal with later.
This is later.
Sweeping Up the Leaves
The business world sometimes seems like something out of the Alice books — you have to run as fast as you can just to stay still. Things change, and certainly if you’ve had your mind on the beautiful weather over summer, the changes you need have probably stacked up. They might be outdated technology, unproductive marketing techniques, or even unprofitable customers.
It can be scary to let go of familiar things, but it’s an essential first step if you want to change for the better. If, for instance, you’ve identified that your marketing strategy isn’t bringing you the business it should, you can channel the energy you built up over summer into formulating a better one, and then let the old system go. It’s just fallen leaves to be swept up.
Winter Is Coming
Winter can have its dreary side — I wonder how many of us will be working hard to get our tax returns done in January. But it also offers the excitement of the Christmas season, and that can offer endless opportunities to businesses. Maybe you’re offering products that could sell well at Christmas. Or maybe you’re offering services those companies will need.
Either way, now is the time to start your marketing push in earnest to take advantage of these opportunities. Feel free to get in touch with me if the Resource Centre can help with that.