Six Sizzling Summertime Marketing Ideas to Grow your Business

Hospitality and retail businesses love the summer – when the weather is good people go out and spend money. Even when it’s not good, they make the most of days off and bank holidays and, hopefully, these industries reap the benefits.  For B2B and service-based businesses, it can be a less exciting time!  When people take holidays and spend fewer collective hours at work it can be a slow time for small B2B businesses.

So what can we do to encourage people to come in from the sunshine and give their time and money to your business, whatever industry you are in?

  1. Welcome the Summer

Instead of trying to pretend people aren’t going on holiday, embrace the fact they are travelling!  People are excited to go to different places again after too long stuck at home in lockdown, so get excited with them.  Find fun ways to encourage them to engage with you – like photo competitions. Imagine getting them to take photos of your product or logo in new places.  Not only will it help to get your customers excited, but it will also help you to create your content for the whole summer months.

  1. Get Retro and Go Offline

If people are spending less time online because of the summer sun, then find them in other places.  Send them something fun through the post, a little gift, a thank you card, a gift voucher – something to make them smile.  Get creative with print advertising and get your business seen in the ‘real world’ where your customers will be.

  1. Make it a Big Event

Have you heard?  We can meet face-to-face now!  It’s been so long that it can be easy to think that any old event will do, but try to think outside the box.  ‘Drinks and nibbles with slides’ is not going to cut it – get people excited and give them a fun reason to come and see you in person again.

  1. Add Some Summer Value

The cost of living crisis is hitting us all and your customers might well be looking to reign in their spending so a discount or offer may be a welcome way to encourage them to make that purchase. But whilst your customers will be looking for the best deals to save pennies, being the cheapest won’t necessarily win you the customer. Consider how you can add value beyond ‘summer sales’ and posters with thermometers on them! 

  1. Make the Most of Your Customers

It’s easier to sell to someone you’ve already sold to, so treat your current customers like royalty with exclusive offers, downloads, content, giveaways or events that spoil them.  Show them you haven’t forgotten them just because the sun is shining and target them with a loyalty campaign.

  1. Make the Most of Referrals

Testimonials and case studies are tried and tested ways of creating trust in potential customers, but they can take a lot of effort to generate.  Word-of-mouth recommendations have a much shorter ROI and can be accomplished with a single campaign.  Encourage your current customers to recommend you to their peers in exchange for a small reward.

If you think your business would benefit from some marketing support this summer we’d love to hear from you! You can email info@limegreenmarketing.co.uk or pick up the phone and call us on 01600 891525.