Marketing Your Seasonal Business Online

When a lead comes into your business, it may seem like the beginning of the sales process. To the customer, however, it may have taken them days, weeks, or even months to reach this point. Especially for larger purchases, hours of research and simple procrastination often proceed the point of making contact.

For this reason, it is vital that your marketing efforts are continuous throughout the year, even if your business is seasonal.

Take a lawn care company, for example. You may not have any leads coming in while there is still snow on the ground, but your potential customers have not forgotten that they have a lawn under all that white stuff.  While they are cozied up, sipping hot chocolate by the fireplace, they are imagining sitting out on the patio surrounded by greenery and chirping birds in the sunshine.

For Real Estate Agents too, while few people are placing their homes up for sale in January, that is precisely the time when homeowners are thinking about doing so. Why not be the agent who is top-of-mind while your competitors are taking a break from active marketing?

During your off-season, it makes sense to pause some direct response style advertising, such as coupon books, lead generation ads, and mailers. However, your off-season is an excellent time to promote your expertise and brand on social media platforms!

During the colder months, people are dreaming of new homes, vacations, and relaxing on their new patio in a beautifully landscaped yard!

Whether it is sharing simple tips on preparing for the upcoming season, delivering advice videos showing what should be done when the season is here, or writing blog posts designed to stir the imagination, you\’ll want to take advantage of the off-season to build top-of-mind awareness among potential customers. Top-of-mind awareness means that when the time does come for a customer to choose a provider, they are far more likely to choose the business that has been delivering value year-round, rather than the one who shows up only when it’s time to make a sale.

If your competitors are relaxing in the off-season and putting their active  online marketing efforts on the back burner, there\’s great opportunity for you to seize the market and build awareness. If they are busy maintaining their brand, then you must also keep your name out there so they don’t take your market share. Either way, a year-round marketing strategy is a must for any business looking to maintain and grow its market share.