As a business owner, priorities tend to shift and your upcoming marketing initiatives may end up at the bottom of the list or forgotten completely. But with summer nearing an end and back to school on the horizon, now is the time to shift your focus to promoting lighting, outdoor audio, and other fall services.
In the past, we’ve discussed the importance of timing for promotion/launching a new service. The same philosophies around timing can be used when promoting a seasonal service. If you don’t start promoting your services soon enough, you may not capture your audience and your potential customers may go to competitors. If you start promotion too soon, your message could get lost.
Consider these seven tips for successfully marketing your lighting and fall services:
1. Set Your Goal
Whether it’s increasing business of a specific service, generating new customer leads, or locking in existing customers for another year—make sure your goal is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and has a time range (S.M.A.R.T.) Here are is an example of a S.M.A.R.T. goal: Generate 10 new customer leads by October 1st that want to install an outdoor lighting system.
And it’s ok to have more than one goal. Perhaps you have a goal for existing customers: Upgrade 5 existing customer systems by September 15th.
2. Pick Your Target Customer
Once you have identified your S.M.A.R.T. goal, make sure your target audience matches your goal. If you are focused on new lighting systems, you won’t be targeting customers that already have one installed. For customers that already have a lighting system installed, you may have consider promoting outdoor audio or upgrading their existing system (better/more control, lighting more areas of the property, etc.)
3. Are You Offering Any Specials/Bundles?
Will new customers get a 10% off a bundle package? Will existing customers receive a discount if they add outdoor audio? Make sure that the promotion resonates with your current and potential customers.
4. Tell Them About It
How are you going to communicate your service to your target customer? There are so many different ways to promote your service, some of the most popular include email, text, website, social media, and direct mail pieces. Finding the best way to market your business can feel overwhelming. So, where do you focus? We recommend keeping it simple and focus on areas that will give you the most bang for your buck.
5. Are You Competitive?
Understanding your competitor’s business and seasonal promotions will help set you apart. Learn as much as you can about what your competition is offering and when they are likely to offer it. Knowing your competition will help you get out in front of them, whether it’s a better special, marketing a service they do not have, or focusing on a specific customer they do not.
6. Be Strategic
You do not need to target every customer with every special or promotion. Doing so could devalue your services. Creating S.M.A.R.T. goals, will help you focus your messaging and target the people that will likely benefit (and buy) your specific service/offer. If your customer or leads are consistently receiving messages that doesn’t make sense to them, they may start to ignore everything that comes from your company—including marketing that could be beneficial for them.
7. Leverage Your Partnerships
Rely on Central to help you accomplish your goals with innovative and effective solutions. Whether you’re looking for additional training on lighting products or want to start offering outdoor audio—we have you covered.
In addition to our regular monthly specials, Central has Early Order Programs available. These programs offer special discounts, extended terms, and product guarantee. Connect with a local Central branch or rep to learn more. And as always, Central is the right partner for your business. If you need help with your marketing or business initiatives, reach out. We’re ready to help you grow!