Back to school - How can you benefit?
July 31st, 2005
It’s that time of year again, time to put away the water wings and the Slip N’ Slide and begin your back to school shopping. Clothes, lunch boxes, backpacks and notebooks will be just a few of the items that top your list. But aside from the obvious things that children need for school, do you know how the back to school rush affects your business? Most businesses experience a sizable increase or decrease in sales during this time of year and knowing which way yours is going to go can make a big difference in how you handle your marketing.
If you know that you’re business usually drops of by about 15% this time each year, you can be proactive by increasing your advertising investment by 15% (or even more) to compensate for it. While your competitors are sitting around hoping their sales increase again soon, you’ve already made it happen for your company.
On the other hand, if you know that your sales usually increase this time of year you can be opportunistic by increasing your advertising investment and also starting your seasonal marketing just a little sooner than your competitors do. Now you’ve got the jump on them and you are creating more exposure than usual by increasing your investment.
If you don’t know how your business fares during this time of year compared to the rest of the year then you definitely need to find out. Look over your monthly sales over the last two or three years and look for any consistent increases or decreases. Then plan your marketing accordingly.
