Avoiding the Summer Business Slowdown

Traditionally summertime has represented a slowdown for businesses and employees. From vacation to more responsibilities with the kids to feeling the hot days of summer, it just seems that you get less done. While not always a bad thing, in today’s business world you can never afford to be stagnant. The good news is there are ways to stay busy, improve your organization’s productivity, and have a little fun this summer…other than Jaycee meetings, of course.

Check out the suggestions from Lisa Barone at Small Business Trends and make your 2014 summer one of the best ever! She recommends that you should:

Go to Camp – there are plenty of professional camps offered each summer that help individuals learn and refine their skills in industries ranging from service to technical. Just like in your youth – summer camps can be fun and rewarding!

Create Cross-Promotion Incentives – work with other businesses in your area to increase customers for both of you. Coupons, special events, marketing…all can be shared to reduce expenses and increase revenue.

Do Something Crazy – test a new marketing strategy, promote to a group you’ve never sold to before, host local outreach events. The summer is your opportunity to take some risks that you are too busy to consider during other seasons.

More Social Media – spend some time redoing your most popular social media pages. Give folks a reason to come back and check you out again. Join a new social media channel to reach a potential group of customers you’ve never been exposed to.

Research New Forms of Marketing – if you’ve been a mailer person, look into another form of advertising. Never made a YouTube video? Now’s your chance. Take a shot at something new for your marketing strategy and you might be paid off with rewards in the form of increased traffic, sales, and local visibility.

Don’t resign yourself to an unproductive summer. Do something different from the usual business strategy and open up some new areas of opportunity. It can help your career, and your organization’s bottom line. When you come up with something good…share it with us on Facebook and Twitter. We love great stories!