No matter how awesome your small business is doing year-to-year, there will be periods where your business drops in terms of customer and revenue. As discouraging as entering a slow season may be, it’s important to use this down-time wisely. Slower periods, when done right, can be used to your advantage. In fact, it’s a great time to check-in with your creative side, get resourceful, and start planning goals that can help you grow your business well into the future. These seasons of lull are truly hidden opportunities for growth, providing time to assess and optimize your current business model or processes. Has your business entered its slow season (or is about to)? If so, the following strategies can help and inspire you avoid the “slump” of slow season and instead, move towards it with purpose and drive. Revamp your Online and Offline Marketing (and Experiment) There is no better time than now to experience with bold, innovative marketing strategies that spark and engage a renewal interest and excitement around your brand. Revisit your marketing plan and ask yourself what’s working and what isn’t. From there, decide which tactics to test out during this slow season. For instance, if your engagement on Facebook is at an all-time high, then you may want to consider using Facebook Live. There’s no better way to put both you and your brand at the forefront of your customers, especially if they’re already monitoring your brand on that platform. If live events are part of your marketing plan, then it’s time to revisit those strategies, including what goals you’ve outlined (the “why”) and the type of event you’ve hosted in the past (i.e. product release vs. a thought leadership summit) including what worked and what didn’t. Focus on the Customer Experience During This Slow Season When asked to state the single most exciting business opportunity in 2019 for a Digital Marketing Trends survey, companies chose customer experience (CX) over other trends like content marketing and mobile marketing. According to the survey, a good B2B marketing strategy should focus on content to attract and nurture their audience. Once secured, customer experience is what makes them stay. A customer-oriented approach must be at the core of your business model. Use this slow season to brainstorm ways to enhance your customer experience to ensure that all your systems and processes are valuable, interactive, streamlined, and effective. Simply relying on your products or services to “do the selling for them” is a perilous way of thinking, and will only stunt your business from growth. Allocate Time to Managing Your Money What better time to catch up on your financials than during slow season? Instead of twiddling your thumbs during this down time, focus on improving your cash flow. Small business owners tend to get caught up on the little details—as a result, cash flow is often on the back burner during peak seasons. Use this time to create a budget, check on your cash flow, control your inventory, and analyze your income and expenses to see the bigger picture of your finances. Of course, if you want to stay up-to-date on your business finances even after a slow season, using a simple accounting software such as Kashoo can help you manage your money throughout the year. Designed for small business owners who are looking for an easy-to-use accounting solution, Kashoo offers a simple workspace to: Track your expenses every time you make a business purchase Bill clients quickly using customizable invoices directly from within Kashoo Take credit card payments to get paid quicker Produce important financial reports in order to make smarter business decisions Don’t Let This Slow Season Be an Unproductive One A slow season can be a headache to navigate, but it can be a productive one. Try these ideas during your next slow season to be more strategic with both your marketing and financial strategy.
