The warm weather, the kids off school and the long-awaited holidays create quite a quiet August for many businesses. However, quiet time does not always need to result in a loss in business. Rather than worrying about your business being slow, we want to help you make the most of your time! This month our content calendar theme is planning and execution and in this blog we will provide you with our top 5 tips and tricks on how to use your down time wisely and streamline your processes for when the busy periods inevitably start again.
Get up to speed
According to The Busy Person’s Guide to the Done List, by Janet Choi and Walter Chen, 41% of to-do list items are never completed! This means that you are writing down things you would like to do, but they don’t get completed due to other tasks taking priority.
A quiet period in business provides you with the opportunity to catch up. Below are a few things you may have written down on your to-do but not yet had chance to complete:
- Update your website
- Update/cleanse your prospect database
- Try new strategies tailored towards an audience outside of your norm
Get creative
When business is booming, it is easy to keep your marketing the same. But in your quiet time, it would be a great utilisation of your time to evaluate your current market strategy and think of some fresh ideas.
Concentrating on too many things at once blocks your creativity, but now you have some downtime let’s get thinking. Here are some things you can schedule to prompt creativity…
- Schedule a brainstorm – give yourself an hour in a quiet place to really think about your ideas and how they can help your business become more efficient
- Involve the team! –Working collaboratively is a great way to think of fresh ideas
- Test it out – Have an idea? Create the graphic or draft the email you’ve been envisioning and see if it aligns with your current strategy
Focus on your customers
There is no better time to focus on the current customers your business has. Whilst you’re experiencing some downtime, make sure you’re contacting your customers to ensure they are happy.
Last month our content calendar theme was optimising client experience. Have a read of our blog to see how you can be using your downtime to enhance your customers experience with your business.
Research
Now you have the time, conduct some market research. Analyse your competitors: what are they doing? Are they performing better than you? What can you do differently to get the edge on your competitors?
On top of your competitor analysis, why don’t you do some research into how you can improve your products and service: what do people need? Are your customers happy with the current product/service which you provide? When you’re running at breakneck speed to keep up with demand, it can be difficult to schedule in time for self-reflection. But this type of analysis is key to ensuring that you or your products don’t become stale in an ever-changing industry. Collect all the information you need to take your business to the next level.
Get Ready For The Upturn
The summer lull is just a fraction of the year and your business is inevitably going to get busy again, so let’s get prepared. To make sure you are not rushed off your feet once business starts booming, plan ahead and ensure you have all the staff, equipment, resource and material you will need for the busy times. In doing this, you may make the busy periods more manageable – a win-win!
