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3 Ways To Increase Sales During Your Slow Season
In our last blog, we pointed out that the advent of spring is potentially a bad thing for many different companies. For a number of businesses, winter is their busy season. So what to do when the weather warms up and business slows down? We mentioned that online marketing can go a long way in helping to encourage more visitors to your website and hopefully turn them into buying customers. But what else can be done to increase sales during your slow season?
Here are three ways:
1. Give out freebies. Few things make people happier than getting things for free. If you’re looking to “wow” customers during your slow season so that they come back to you more often, you may want to invest in some promotional products that bear your company’s name and logo. On Kabbage.com, Madie Hodges explains that giving away some of your products as samples is also a great way to generate more interest in your brand.
“People love free stuff no matter what it is, and chances are if they are shopping or using your business, they already like your products,” she writes, “Offering samples of products with purchase is a great way to incentivize people to keep buying. Giving your customers freebies also makes them feel valued and important. It is a great way to give back to them and show how much you appreciate them.”
2. Cater to the needs of a niche market. Sometimes, it’s very beneficial to address areas that other companies are not. Is there anything that you can offer that your competitors don’t? Perhaps, during your off seasons, you can focus on this special request of your customers to help steady your sales. On HubSpot.com, Brianne Shelley offers up a great example of how this can work in the food industry.
“If you run a bakery that experiences frequent peaks and valleys throughout the year, try marketing yourself to a gluten-free or sugar-free crowd,” she suggests, “Specializing with these markets will give you an edge that not as many competitors can leverage, making you the stand-out business in your industry and giving that niche market even more reason to come and see you.”
3. Create a new rewards program. In our last blog, we encouraged you to request testimonials from your customers. To reiterate an important point, there aren’t many better marketing ideas than to have your happy customers tell others about how great your business is. It’s only right, however, that you reward such customers. Establish a rewards program that not only gives incentives for those who recommend you, but rewards those who regularly support you.
Hodges supports this idea as well. “Rewards programs like ‘Buy 10 sandwiches and get the 11th free’ can really boost your sales because it requires your customers to buy more of your product than they might normally for the opportunity to get a free one,” she says, “Rewards programs are just another inexpensive way to market your business and gain new customers by offering a valuable freebie.”
Naturally, you’ll need some additional financing to help pull off such feats. At Synergy Marketing, our great merchant cash advance program can help you to secure the money you need to promote your business during your off season fast! For more information, or to speak with one of our licensed funding specialists to get a free, no obligation quote, simply call Synergy Merchants at 1-877-718-2026 or email us at info@synergymerchants.com.