The buying frenzy of the holiday season is done, and consumer thoughts turn toward spending money on vacations rather than high-end goods. Summertime is a slow season for many retailers, but that doesn’t mean you simply hold on and keep your head above water. Business owners have the perfect opportunity to make changes that will have a ripple effect on the rest of the year.
During the busy season stretching from Christmas through Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, your marketing efforts focus on gift-worthy products. When the slow period hits, run down this list of seven smart things to do that will transform your extra time into business success.
1. Clienteling to current customers
Clienteling involves using a personalized retail strategy to boost customer experience based on collected data and individual attention. It focuses on relationship building more than getting a single sale. This takes place in the busy season too, of course, but slow business periods give you more opportunity to connect.
The right clienteling software provides numerous benefits. These include customer data collection, personalized communication and customer service, feedback gathering, loyalty and retention activities, and the ability to leverage omnichannel experiences to build those relationships that last.
2. Master personalization efforts
One of the main focuses of clienteling involves personalization to increase customer engagement. The slow business season is the perfect time to dive deep into your collected data and make smart changes based on trends and new discoveries. This extends to any information from potential customers, too. What made them abandon their ecommerce cart before completing the purchase? Why did they walk out of your store with their hands empty and their wallets full?
All that data lets you personalize your approach for each segment of your audience. Develop ways to tailor your marketing messages and special offers to individuals instead of an amorphous consumer group. Create targeted email or SMS marketing campaigns. Set up future sales calendars based on market trends. Adopt or perfect the use of powerful CRM tools.
3. Work on generating customer reviews
Customer feedback matters for two main reasons. First, you get more data you can use to perfect your products, services, and communication in the future. Second, reviews and ratings serve as an incredibly important form of user-created marketing for your brand. They build credibility and increase the buzz about the products you sell and your business performance.
This is another place where data analysis and careful targeting help. Reach out to satisfied, repeat customers and encourage them to share their thoughts on social media or review platforms. Ask them to fill out feedback forms on your website or through a mobile app, too.
While the laws around incentivizing positive reviews or five-star ratings can get murky, you can safely engage more interest by offering loyalty program involvement. No matter how you do it, the review request message itself should include something of value to the consumer.
4. Improve your social and online presence
Has your consumer base shifted to a new social media platform? Do you want to expand your business strategy to include a new demographic? Social media bolsters everything you do on your company website and engages shoppers more than anything else. And it’s usually one of the first things that many suffer during busy periods of the year. As things slow down for the summer, you’ll have more time and energy to enhance your online presence and make smart changes that get better results.
First, ensure your site and ecommerce shop work smoothly, load quickly, and have no broken links or other issues. Next, work on your regular Instagram, Facebook, or video platform schedules.
Positive changes to your online and social presence can include:
- Faster response times for comments and questions.
- More user-created content in the form of customer stories or photos of them using your products.
- Educational or service-related content to provide value.
- Targeted campaigns to reach a broader or more precise audience.
- News about consumer trends, fashion, or hot topics like sustainability.
5. Train your sales team on new skills
Retail trends change all the time. New marketing techniques emerge. Consumer expectations shift. Parts of an effective sales process can change, too. If you want to retain a successful business model, it helps to stay on top of emerging techniques for attracting attention and closing deals.
Use the slow season for sales training sessions. Equip your team with the best knowledge and skills about communication, negotiation, customer care, product knowledge, and more. Make sure their sales training includes a focus on using the technology that fuels your success. Luckily, professional platforms like Clientbook are highly user friendly and accessible.
6. Take stock and refresh your inventory
The high-profit and high-sales-volume holidays are over, and your inventory may look a little depleted or disorganized. Now is the time to dig into the numbers so you know what to restock, how much, and when to plan for future inventory needs, too. Scarcity only creates excitement on the hottest items, and being out-of-stock when someone wants to buy right away is a death blow to profits and brand reputation.
When you understand consumer trends more clearly and data reveals the most profitable products, you also have what it takes to strategize effectively. Should you introduce items from a new jewelry designer or expand your home decoration product line in a different direction? While taking a chance can bring great rewards, tracking inventory fluctuations from past purchases leads to less risky decisions.
7. Implement new tech
More time for training gives you the opportunity to introduce new technologies to your sales and customer relationship management processes. Focus on data collection first. Implement automation of important tasks like product recommendations, email and SMS marketing messages, and social media posting. Embrace advancements in AI for even stronger analyzation of customer behavior and trends. Consider phygital displays for brick-and-mortar shops or augmented reality options for more immersive ecommerce.
Rather than spreading out usability and the need for new training over multiple platforms and apps, look for solutions that combine benefits. Clientbook, a comprehensive CRM, analytics, and automation system, can empower your slow season with across-the-board improvements. The end result? More sales year round and a more productive summer to fuel the fast-paced holiday season when it comes by again.
Book a free demo today to see how you can take advantage of the slow season with Clientbook so you’ll be prepared for the rush when the holiday season comes back around.
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