subject: Hot Ways to Boost Business in the Summer - Part 2 of 2 [print this page] Hot Ways to Boost Business in the Summer - Part 2 of 2
Many businesses experience a slowdown in sales during the summer (or at some other time of year). Here are some hot tips for keeping your revenues high during typically slow months.Mix it up with a red-hot contest (or two)1. Sales ContestsYour sales force can be your greatest asset. However, if your sales folks know that a slow season is coming up (or is underway), they are far less motivated to perform at their usual peak. This is when a contest can really come in handy. You can offer weekly, monthly, or seasonal incentives to motivate your sales team to maximize each customer interaction, and to find new ways to sell during a slow season.2. Consumer ContestsEngage your customers by finding ways for them to interact with your brand. Thanks to the popularity of social media networks and tools like Twitter, it's easy (and practically free) to launch and promote a consumer contest. You can create a contest around most anything: name our newsletter, name our new mascot, create our logo, recipe contest, invent our next product, tell-a-friend, pick the charity who deserves 10% of our next promotion, etc. People love to share their opinions and to get involved.Get creative, get paidSizzling promos are welcome any time of year, regardless of the current state of the economy. People love to find a deal, scoop up a bargain, and feel as though they've really scored a win. But because buyers are constantly bombarded with marketing messages, it pays to truly get creative by inventing promos that pop.Ultimately, your main goal should be to give folks a reason to buy right now. There are many ways to do this, including:1 - Create a fear of lossThis might include verbiage such as: "for a limited time." "a limited number," "only __ remaining," etc. The idea is that if they don't act now, they're going to miss out.2 - Why not buy in bulk?This could include prepaid packages, two-for-one or BOGO deals, discounts on gift cards, annual passes, etc. The idea is to make it wildly appealing for them to spend more now, because what they get will either last longer or include a lot more perks.3 - Get 'em to bring a friend.Here you might offer "your friend flies free," payments or incentives for referrals, buy now and your friend pays nothing, sign up 2 friends and you're free for life, etc. These tactics rely on the power of peer persuasion, as well as social proof.Whenever you are preselling packages, be sure to consider the long-term and medium-term ramifications of your current actions. For example, if you presell packages now that customers have six months to use, keep in mind that your immediate cash flow will rise, but you may not be able to run a similar promotion for six months if your capacity can't handle the increase in customers (and at that point, you're working and paying your staff for money that's already been collected and possibly spent).Keep looking for creative ways to boost sales all year round and soon your slow season will become a distant memory.
