Understanding How Seasonal Changes Affect Consumer Connection

Seasons Change and So Should Your Marketing Strategies

Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall; Christmas, Tax Season, and the Back-to-School season. Over the course of a year, consumers not only have to deal with the highs and lows of Mother Nature’s four seasons, but also the numerous other holidays, events, and seasons that fill up their calendars and drain their bank accounts. Because life is expensive, there will be times when your perfect customer base simply spends less than your CPAs and bookkeepers would like. Sadly, there’s no escaping this.

As a consumer, this roller coaster of spending is usually just seen as a normal part of life. But, as a business owner looking to connect with your key demographic of buyers, this uncertainty can make it extremely difficult to plan your monthly budgets, create reasonable (and measurable) goals, and anticipate consumer needs. You can’t spend nine months out of the year looking forward to Christmas when consumers jump on the opportunity to spend thousands of dollars in a matter of weeks. You have an entire year to think about business growth and consumer satisfaction. By putting a little extra work into tailoring your content marketing efforts for specific seasons of the year, you can effectively gather new leads, increase your brand’s recognition, and improve sales year round.

Understanding the Connection Between Seasonal Change and Consumer Buying Habits

Throughout the year, your consumers will have periods of time where they will be more inclined to spend more money, and times where they simply won’t. Remember, though, that your business is multi-faceted, and your consumer conversion rates are only one piece of the puzzle. Use the changing seasons strategically to provide your consumers with a comprehensive, targeted content marketing system that enhances every aspect of your business.

1. Changing Your Marketing Strategies With the Seasons can be a great way to keep your content marketing efforts fresh and original throughout the year. People’s buying habits change throughout the year, as seasonal weather can often dictate how, and on what, people spend their money. Take advantage of this knowledge by adapting your messages to what your consumers’ needs are during each season.I.E.) If you’re a lawn and landscape company looking to stay viable during the winter months, consider tailoring your content marketing efforts to your consumers’ needs to keep their lawns healthy and intake, even during the coldest months. Connect with your audience using surveys to determine other areas in which you could expand your business and keep your doors open, even when your customers don’t need their lawns mowed or flower beds mulched.
2. The Summer Months can often be a slow time for businesses. Consumers often spend more time outdoors or vacationing, and less time shopping. Their buying habits, priorities, and schedules look different between May and August. Unless you’re in the tourism industry, you may dread the summertime months. Try tying in summertime holidays like Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day while you explore with new content marketing solutions.I.E.) Look for opportunities to optimize your business’ exposure to you’re your customer base. Are there ways to promote your business during summer festivals and community-wide events? Something as simple as sponsoring a little league baseball team and blogging about their successes can be a great way to increase your brand recognition and make a personal connection with future clients.
3. Understand the fine details of your peak and off-peak seasons to gain further insight into your consumers’ buying habits. On paper, this might seem obvious. Some months, you generate more business than other months. But, while you may be seeing less foot traffic inside your doors, are you experiencing increased traffic on your website? How do your web analytics reflect what your audience is interested in? Use this information to give people something to talk about during the off-peak seasons.
   I.E.) Utilizing content marketing solutions to announce seasonal deals and promotionals, or rewarding customer loyalty during the off-peak seasons can help drive additional business your way.

Remember, it’s never too early to start planning ahead. During the slow months, start thinking about what your upcoming marketing plans should look like to gear up for the next big promotional or sale. Time flies and you don’t want to be stuck playing catch-up with last minute marketing efforts that fail to reach their full potential. Take advantage of every opportunity to provide your target audience with the most important information they need for the season they’re in.

To learn more about how to adapt your current content marketing strategy to reflect seasonal changes, contact the marketing professionals at Neon Goldfish today One quick phone call to 419-842-4462 will get you connected with a marketing expert who has the insight and experience to set your next content marketing solution on the path to success.

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By Ken Franzen

President / Co-Founder of Neon Goldfish