Memorial Day weekend officially marks the beginning of summertime, and with that comes many changes in our personal lives–end of school for kids, vacation season, family reunions and more time outdoors. Summer can also affect the way we do business. Here are common warm weather changes that may affect your business along with a few tips to make the most of summertime:
Outdoor Envy: If you work in an office, you might notice your co-workers taking longer lunch breaks or staring longingly out the window at times. The nicer weather is certainly something you want to enjoy, so rather than let it distract you, take your work outside! Schedule business meetings at outdoor cafe spots or find a quiet, shady spot in your favorite park to knock out an important proposal or a discovery conversation with a client regarding their pressing needs.
Vacation Void: Chances are, you have a summer vacation planned. If you’re like us, you plan in advance to ensure that your clients’ needs are met and someone is in place to take care of everything while you’re away. But it’s not just your own vacation that affects the flow of business. Clients and vendors and employee vacations all factor into the flow of business, sometimes slowing down projects or causing missed connections. Rather than fight it, embrace the fact that project implementation may take longer. Instead, summer may be a great time to sit down with your own team and review what’s worked well in the previous year and make plans for new ventures.
Summer Slump: Whether you’re business is retail-based, or not, you may experience a decline in sales during the summer. This is partly due to your customers having their attention focused elsewhere–on vacations and downtime–and partly due to a natural sense of lethargy that the summer heat encourages. You can preempt some of this lag by having a plan in place to drive customer engagement during the summer months, whether through a special sale, email campaign, contest or other.
Embrace Idle Time: Summer is also a great time to catch up on your reading–personal and business. We’ve recommended a few content marketing books below to enjoy while walking the dog, traveling, or even while you’re sitting at the beach! A great way to just stimulate the day and the mind.
- Content Marketing Inc. by Joe Pulizzi
- Everybody Writes by Ann Handley
- Audience by Jeff Rohrs
- Epic Content Marketing by Joe Pulizzi (our next audio book for inspiration)
Share With Others: What’s your summertime strategy? Tweet & tell us @RootedELM using the hashtag #EmailMktgSummer.