
By this time next week, the kids will be back in school. So, for many people, this is the last week of summer. Of course, summer still has until September 23rd before it officially transitions into fall. But with the close of the summer vacation coming within the week, it’s a very interesting time of year.
For some businesses, “interesting” actually translates to “slow”. But it doesn’t have to be! How can you boost sales during the last week of summer?
Add value to each sale.
There’s nothing like a little surprise to get a customer feeling good about your brand. This week, consider offering your customers a little extra something with each purchase. It will go a long way in securing repeat business in the months to come. On BusinessKnowHow.com, April Maguire offers up an intriguing suggestion.
“For example, a local nail salon could offer a deal in which customers who purchase both a manicure and a pedicure get free nail art,” she writes, “Similarly, you can opt to give away branded items like beach bags or water bottles with purchases of $25. Not only do these branded gifts serve as great marketing tools, but they also boost goodwill among your client base.”
Get busy on social media.
The Facebooks, Twitters and Instagrams of the world are hugely popular all year long. If you find that your store tends to have its sales slow down when summer draws to an end, you’ll want to use this time of year as the one when your social media presence grows significantly. A social media contest will do just that.
“Sponsoring a social media contest is a great way to generate excitement during a slow time in the sales season,” says Maguire, “Not only is a social media giveaway great for engaging customers and increasing page views, but it also creates goodwill for your business…Facebook and Twitter tend to remain popular regardless of the season, business owners can be confident that social media contents will help them reach a wider audience and, ideally, boost sales.”
Host a “vacation photo” contest.
We like this idea. Think about it. At this time of year, most people have already gone on their summer vacations, right? Why not ask them to share their recently-taken photos and turn it into a contest? Who doesn’t like showing off their vacation pics? And, as we just mentioned, social media provide the perfect means to do so.
“Have people submit their contact information and their best vacation photo,” suggests business advisor and author, Carol Roth on her website, “The ‘coolest’ vacation photo wins – give away a $100 gift card to incentivize participation! You will be gathering new contact info, as well as engaging your audience and creating a dialogue with potential clients.”
No matter which marketing method you choose to boost sales this week, be sure to give your customers payment options. At Canadian POS, we believe there’s no better way to accept credit cards and debit cards than with the revolutionary Poynt Smart Terminal. Call us at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost to learn more!