The start of the summer season usually signifies a time for putting aside worries and taking the time to unwind by throwing parties, taking part in festivities and simply making time for fun and relaxation with friends, family and everyone in between. Therefore, it can signal a booming time for many businesses with events, various services, food sales, and summer or retail festival products.
However, with the onset of Covid-19, and the many restrictions and limitations placed on large-scale gatherings, businesses may become worried about how sales will fare before the next lively season of Christmas.
While one feasible solution is to take advantage of a Christmas in July sales strategy to boost sales (You can read our Christmas in July blog here to find out more), there is one other busy period that happens before the Christmas holidays that businesses can significantly profit on — the Back-to-School scramble in August-September. Parents are often scrambling for new uniforms, clothes, books, and school supplies for their children to prepare for the new school year. And while you may think that your business is not directly in the line of offering back-to-school supplies, here are some surprising approaches that your company can use to get on the back-to-school wagon, regardless of your industry.
Look Your Best, Be Your Best
Back-to-school is not just a time for new learning. It is also the time for new looks and new beginnings for students, parents, and teachers.
The beauty industry can profit enormously in this area by offering back-to-school discounts and bundles on skin and hair care products and services for students who would like to step into the new school year with a confident and fresh look. Spa businesses can provide limited-time weekend specials for parents and teaching staff who may desire a bit of tranquillity before (and even after!) heading into a tiring first week of school.
Be Prepared!
The motto of the Girl Guides and Boy Scouts is often the mantra of parents and teachers in the Summer period for the new school year. While the cycle of dirty clothes, messy rooms, missing textbooks, report cards, and permission slips all become the norm when school is back in full swing. Your business can help parents solve this problem by assisting them to be more prepared, a little more organized and ready for and into the new school year.
Businesses in the hardware industry can easily benefit from the back-to-school rush by promoting various storage spaces or solutions for books, papers, stationery, and other school material. Construction companies can also get in on the act with space maximizing room renovations and updates instead of waiting for the Christmas Season when this is traditionally done. However, waiting until the end of the year may not give your business enough time to take advantage of the benefits that sales and offers can make more of an impact on your bottom line.
Janitorial businesses can benefit from the "spring cleaning'' atmosphere that is a consequence of the Back to School season, while department stores can explore the promotion of cleaning products and solutions because of the increased interest in creating order in preparation for the new school year.
Bon Appetit!
Dinner anyone? Back-to-school can often mean energy-spent, super hungry children at the end of long days. But between the pressures of daily work life and the added responsibilities of Back-to-School, the results are tiring days. Weekends aren't spared either, as they are often reserved for completing more time consuming domestic chores and responsibilities.
Businesses in both the restaurant and hotel industries can stand to gain from this situation by offering back-to-school family discounts and weekend specials that will give families a break from all the cooking and allow them to enjoy a good meal that the family does not have to prepare. These industries need not limit themselves to these types of initiatives only. Promotions can run throughout the school term in events, parties and birthday specials as students and parents alike are often seeking fun ways to be entertained or celebrate things they care about with their friends. Even parents and school staff may need a few vacation days for themselves after a stressful week.
TGIF Friday discounts, free bonus meals for large families, open live events with featured artists, weekend getaways for couples and families, and student weekend passes that allow one to use designated hotel facilities are just a few ways these businesses can benefit from the back-to-school scene.
Go Big or Go Home
Before the emergence of Covid-19, food wholesalers stood to gain a little more than usual during the more festival times of the year, as street vendors and supermarkets sought to supply the needs of a larger number of consumers. Now, with major events everywhere cancelled, the economy a little tighter and pockets, a little bit smaller, wholesalers in the food industry will do well to change their tactics if they are to survive the long period before the Christmas season comfortably. Wholesalers too can take advantage of the back-to-school rush by promoting the purchase of wholesale meats, for example, directly to school cafeterias and families.
More than ever, it is more economically feasible to purchase in bulk than it is to purchase for day-to-day use. And as buying daily lunches becomes less of an option, families will be glad to have a healthy supply of food at home to keep their stomachs filled and their wallets relieved for the next few months. Additionally, with some level of collaboration, wholesalers, supermarkets, and grocers can offer busy parents access to more food to cook healthy meals for their kids at food events and discounted price offerings.
Jump out of the box
Despite your business type, you can often find a way for your business to benefit from any seasonal hype, indirectly or directly. Take the time to sniff out the pain points of your target audience, create your business's unique solution, plan your promotions just right, and you may be pleasantly surprised to see how your sales would grow because of your effort.
At Kimalene Regis Consulting, we specialise in helping clients put together the right marketing plans for their business to capitalize on opportunities that you may not even realiise may be a goldmine for your company.
We can help you jump completely out of the box that's restricting innovation, growth and more success. Work with a team that will help you gather data, research, design and launch the initiatives that will help your campany make it's mark.
Schedule a consultation today.
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