As a business owner, you have a good idea of which months are slow for sales. Still, that knowledge doesn’t quite ease the blow when you’re in the thick of it.
Seasons that generate lower-than-average revenue can make you wonder if a greater downward trend is emerging. And since the cost of doing business and overhead only increase regardless of earnings, it can become a worrisome time for decision-makers.
Seasonal slowdowns hit your business from many angles too.
Not only is there a reduction in foot traffic and online impressions, but potential customer’s mindsets shift. Purchases and business initiatives that were once a priority get pushed back, forgotten, or abandoned.
Acknowledgment and a reminder that other businesses like yours are in a similar boat help to direct your focus on what can be gained rather than what’s been temporarily lost.
Before getting into solutions, let’s look at common periods when sales drop and the stats to back it up.
Months with the Lowest Sales
Different industries and types of businesses can have vastly different cycles and patterns when it comes to revenue.
For example, manufacturers of air conditioners and BBQs experience a spike in interest when many other businesses experience a dip in sales during the summer.
That being said, there are common seasonal slowdowns that affect many if not most businesses.
Generally, the summer months, particularly July and August, are the weakest months for online sales.
Your potential customers are focused on enjoying life rather than making significant buying decisions.
People spend less time typing their questions in search engines or scrolling on social media. If you have an e-commerce business, there’s only so much you can do to compensate for marked shifts in consumer behaviour as impressions and traffic are correlated with sales.
In second place is the dip many businesses experience after the holidays.
Consumers have spent more than they’d like on Black Friday and for gifts for their families. Whether they have the budget to shop in January and February or not, the drive to buy products dips as people start shaping the next year of their lives.
Differences in Revenue Patterns in B2B
While the holidays are a big boost in B2C, it typically means decreased revenue in B2B.
Whether it’s acknowledged or not, productivity starts to dip as employees start to think about how they’ll spend their time off. Managers are less likely to launch new projects that involve vendors as it would require a pause during the holidays.
Before B2B leaders get a bit envious of B2C’s incredible peak in holiday sales they’ll want to remind themselves they don’t experience the holiday hangover either.
The new year comes with refreshed budgets in B2B.
Decision makers look to regain the momentum that was lost during their time off. Thus, this leads to increased interest in professional services in the new year. It isn’t on par with the better stretches in the year, but it reveals the potential of the coming months.
Seasonal Slowdown Stats
When it comes to getting a snapshot of the state of small business, the Fiserv Small Business Index is an excellent place to start. I encourage you to check out the latest data on Fiserv’s website.
Judging from Fiserv’s Small Business Index over the past few years, a two or three percent drop in sales is common during the summer.
If you look at the overall index, the dips and peaks are averaged out to the extent that it isn’t practical to compare it to the performance of your company.
The index value of the subsector that best relates to your business tells a more accurate story. Even then, based on your personal experience, you’ll probably find that your business has greater sales volatility than the index. And I want to remind you and reassure you that it’s normal.
Take Advantage of Low Revenue Months
If you want to level up your company it’s critical to work on your business rather than work in your business. This is one of the key points in The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber. And it hits particularly hard during seasons with slow sales.
When revenue is up, we tend to focus on operations and delivering a great product. It’s natural for leaders to wish there was more time to devote to long-term planning.
When sales are down, the opportunity arises to focus on systems and improving the business itself. Thus, appreciate seasonal slowdown for what it is, entrepreneurs. The time has finally arrived to strengthen the foundation everything is built on.
1. Strengthen the Brand Behind Your Marketing
During a slowdown, it’s natural to try to reverse the trend and aim for short-term sales. However, if you want your business to be resilient in the approaching years and beyond, you need a strong brand.
SMBs tend to choose short-term tactics such as creating offers over brand building. Small businesses need results and they need them fast! However, consider the fact that branding is one of the few ways you can increase the effectiveness of all your marketing.
Customers buy from businesses they know, like, and trust.
Revisit your marketing efforts. Ask yourself honestly: Does this content create awareness, make people like the business, and build trust?
Consider the proportion of your marketing that goes after immediate sales versus strengthening your brand. If could be time to make more content that checks both boxes or content that focuses on long-term goals.
2. Lean into Sources of Long-term Growth
Leadership’s sentiment about marketing plays a big role. And when sales are down, some in the C-suite can start to question if tried-and-true marketing methods are still effective.
In a report titled, “Don’t Cut Your Marketing Budget in a Recession,” by Nirmalya Kumar and Koen Pauwels, the researchers found that during past recessions, companies that maintained or increased their marketing spend achieved stability, and experienced growth as well.
The same rule applies here. When external factors like seasonal slowdowns arrive, it’s beneficial to stay the course and weather the storm.
Cost-cutting is a rational response to lower revenue figures, but if you cost-cut areas that lead to growth, you’ll trade in results that look good immediately on the balance sheet with results that are good in the future.
3. Streamline Your Processes
Before diving into the topic of improving processes, let’s look at a couple of key stats:
- 69% of businesses report they have established procedures, but only 4% monitor and control them. (Procesowcy)
- About 80% of businesses are speeding up process automation. 50% of them plan to automate all repetitive tasks in the future. (Kissflow)
The reality is that every small business can find ways to improve their systems. In fact, by leveraging cutting-edge tools such as AI and SaaS (online software), it’s the best time in history to improve the efficiency of your business.
Assess existing processes, rank them, analyze outcomes, and be open to feedback from colleagues and employees.
It’s so much easier to revise processes when the chaos of the busy months has subsided. Not only does it give leaders time to reflect on the current way projects are handled, but it creates a separation between how it was done before and how it will be done moving forward.
4. Refresh Your Offers
From a sales perspective, how you package and present your services is just as important as the services themselves.
All too often, vendors think of an offer and a service as essentially the same thing. Once you’ve separated them in your mind, new avenues to entice customers will open up.
Here are some points to consider:
- The offer focuses on the outcomes and benefits that are the most meaningful to the target audience.
- It’s easy for suppliers to emphasize the service and not the offer. The service itself is the heart and soul of operations, but buyers need to see a good offer to take action.
- Most of the time, it isn’t necessary to change your list of services. Tweaking your offers and how you package those services allows you to get the attention of an increasingly fickle consumer.
- Special and limited-time offers can be used to create a sense of urgency. Rational or not, people value offers more knowing they will expire.
Conclusion
Seasonal slowdowns don’t have to be seen as setbacks. They grant you time. And that’s precisely what you and your team need to level up operations.
After you’ve strengthened your brand, stayed the course with marketing, and improved efficiency, your next seasonal slowdown won’t hit as hard.
Interested in getting an outside perspective of your digital marketing efforts and brand so your business can hit higher numbers during the summer? Contact the team at Nuflux Media to get started.
