10 Tips for Putting Some Spring Back in Your Marketing
Spring is all about taking action!
If the sights and sounds of springtime activity are inspiring you to take some action on your marketing plan, then consider these 10 Tips as a jumping off point:
- The week of Mothers Day: Hand flowers out to the mothers who frequent your establishment, or send flowers or a card to your clients who are mothers. Surprise recognition goes a long way towards creating a deep loyalty with your customers. (Hey, Father’s day is in the spring too…you can do something similar for them!)
- Spring is the time when people, bears, and flowers emerge from their winter hibernation, and maybe your marketing strategy should see the light of day again. Spring is the perfect time to check in on the progress toward your plan for the year. Don’t have a marketing strategy? Spring is a great time to develop your plan and get it in writing. There is still plenty of time left this year to execute and meet your revenue goals!
- Little League, Softball, Soccer, Lacrosse, 5K races…lots of sports teams re-start their season in the spring. If your ideal client is a busy mother shuttling her kids from one game to another or a running enthusiast, sponsoring a team or an event might be a good spring marketing strategy for your business.
- Changes of season are ripe with excellent opportunities to find creative ideas for “Lumpy Mail”. One example would be, sending a pack of seeds and a small garden trowel to a potential client—”We are here to help you grow!”. Another “Lumpy Mail” example: a chiropractor, massage therapist, foot doctor, etc…sending a metal spring to your customers—“This Spring, we can help you get some spring back in your step.” You get the idea.
- Spring Cleaning…for your website. Does your homepage still have a winter or holiday-themed graphic? Are you advertising a promotion that is long over? Old and outdated information on your site can give the impression that you are disorganized, or worse it can erode trust. So freshen up your website with up to date content.
- With the first days of spring weather, people come out in droves. They want to start spending time outside and will look for outdoor events to enjoy with friends and family. Why not create an event that will attract members of your community? If you’re a retail store, could you organize a sidewalk sale with other shops on your block. Or, if you are a bike shop or similar outdoor goods retailer, you could partner with your local yoga studio, running store, chiropractor, physical therapist, massage therapist and create an outdoor event where people from the community can meet you and get a taste of your products and services.
- In the spring, people are not sitting in front of their computers reading email and checking out your website. No! They’re out and about traveling, spending the day at the park with the kids, going to sporting events, etc. So, make sure your emails and website are not skipped over and forgotten, make them mobile friendly!
- This spring, dust off some blog posts, offers, or content that had a nice response rate in the past. As long as your target audience hasn’t changed, this information should still be relevant to your potential clients. Why re-create the wheel all the time? This way, you can spend some time outside too!
- The first day of spring is a good day to take stock of your business and marketing metrics. You get a good snapshot of the first quarter results, and the timing makes it easy to remember. Repeat this process for the first day of summer, fall, and winter and before you know it, checking-in on your performance will become part of your annual routine.
- Memorial Day is a day for remembering the people who died while serving in the country’s armed forces. As business owners, we can do our part to honor them by giving back to our Veterans. Perhaps offering a special discount on that weekend, or raffling off a free service to veterans and their families. Not only does this build trust and likeability with customers who share your values, but giving back also feeds the soul. And that makes being a small business owner all worth it!
About the Author Karin Kraska
The principal owner of Forlight Marketing, LLC, Marketing Mastery Coach Karin F. Kraska uses a wealth of experience in both the marketing industry and field of science to help small businesses maximize their marketing efforts. As a certified consultant with Duct Tape Marketing and a certified professional coach through the International Coach Federation, Karin brings innovation and proven marketing strategies as well as passionate coaching to take small businesses step-by-step to the next level of success.
