Businesses that take advantage of the seasonal direct marketing initiatives get a leg up on the competition. This is because they showing that they are current, in the spirit and have the competitive edge.
I always tell my clients to take advantage of syncographics – market timing. Are you marketing seasonal products or services, you need to lock down your campaign, finalize your copy, get your offers in line and have your mailing list criteria pulled so you can get your lists in time for your mailing. A campaign, regardless of whether it is direct mail or social media, doesn’t just happen overnight.
Examples of seasonal businesses can include spring cleaning, spring fertilization, pressure-cleaning, Easter or Passover programs, Cinco De Mayo specials or Mother’s day sales.
They key is to use seasonal themes, holidays or events and weave them into your PR, marketing campaigns and promotions
These are some of the themes for Spring:
- Spring Weather
- Spring Cleaning
- New Sports seasons
- Green Initiatives
- Bright Color Schemes
Take advantage of Spring Holidays and events
For spring’s holidays, events and themes, implement some of these seasonal direct marketing initiatives. You can use these as inspiration to create your own ideas:
- April is National Lawn and Garden Month: This is a key time for businesses in the lawn & pest industry, pool & patio, gutter cleaning, and painting & remodeling businesses. By the end of winter we are all so tired of dreariness, this is a chance for your marketing piece to stand out in the mail by using happy colors and a cheerful message. Many businesses in the home service industry focus on Spring initiatives.
- An Easter Social Media Game: Post a photo of jellybeans in a jar and have followers or office visitors guess how many jelly beans are in the jar for a chance to win a prize of your choice. This is a great social marketing program for orthodontists or companies marketing to families with children. Creating engagement through a fun social media game is simple but offers lots of room for social promotion
- April Fools’ Day: Create a prank ad. This is a creative way to get your brand involved in this holiday. For example, The Aspen Times has published an Aprils Fools edition every year. The best part is watching people read the paper who don’t know that it’s an April Fool’s prank. It gives Aspen a different twist to its image. Is this something your business might want to do?
More Spring events you can capitalize on:
- Teacher’s Day – May 7th: Consider offering a free or discounted product to the hard-working teachers on this day. Not only will your brand be showing it cares about individuals that make a difference, it’ll be getting into the conversation surrounding Teacher’s Day.
- World Water Day – March 22 / Earth Day – April 22 : Marketing in conjunction with these national Days offers multiple benefits. You can take advantage of great art work and tag lines which makes your business looks bigger than it is. This happens when you affiliate with a national initiative. Plus, your business is looked upon as a leader. With World Water Day, your messaging will resonate with many market segments. For example, Millennials are keen for businesses that encourage sustainability. BTW – If you are marketing a water filtration system during this period, make sure to reference WWD. It will up your response.
- Take Your Daughter to Work Day: On April 25th, make sure you post photos of your daughter/employees daughters on your website. People want to do business with businesses they like. And this is great for likes.