10 ways to hot up your marketing for winter

As Sydney turns cold we can rug up in our hoodies and Ugg boots and curl up in front of the heater but we mustn’t let our businesses hibernate. It is time to think about hotting up your winter marketing for the colder months.

The winter provides us with opportunities for new markets and new customers as well as helping our existing clients with new products.

Here are ten tips to focus your winter marketing, advertising and promotions over the cold months ahead.

1.    Base your promotions on popular events

Sydney has a range of festivals, cultural festivals, social awareness programs and significant days happening over the winter. These provide an opportunity to create targeted promotions that tap into what’s hot in the event calendar. Choose events or charities that most fit your business’s product or services and marketing strategy. Choose at least one less well-known event to be different to your competitors. Advertise with a theme.

2.    Don’t let your customers hibernate

Don’t treat the winter like a long, slow, down-time and don’t let your customers hibernate. Create urgency. Consumers tend to be more decisive in their purchasing when there is a short deadline. Use the events as cut-offs for promotions and create a sense of urgency in your promotions. The end of financial year creates a strong deadline.

3.    Keep your prospects warm

If you have business premises make sure you keep your customers or clients warm by turning on the heating or having somewhere warm to meet. Cosy and comforting is the best atmosphere for winter shopping. Create ambience with an open fire if you are in the hospitality business. Make sure your marketing material is warming.

4.    Expand your product range

Retailers know to change stock and to change their promotions and advertising for the cold weather, an easy example is Surf Dive and Ski, that covers both seasons. But does your business?

5.    Make your merchandise match the season

The winter season brings different needs. Promotional items should be things that remind customers of your business and fit the season. You want to give them items that they use and that remind them of you every time they use them. Umbrellas are good for winter rain and scarves keep out the cold—they both are good for carrying logos and company names. Give out free tissues with your company details printed on them. Don’t give them T-shirts in the winter.

6.    Look for new and different markets

If your product or services are so seasonal that winter is a slow time, think about selling your product in different markets. If you are selling bikinis in Sydney in the summer sell them in California in the winter (their summer).

7.    Help your customers dream

It is important with your winter marketing to target your prospects when they are most likely to be thinking about your product or service. As people travel into deep winter they start to dream of the summer sun. If the purchase of your product or service has a large lead-time winter is a good time to start planning.

8.    Take advantage of people’s changed behaviour

It is colder, the days are shorter, people don’t go out as much in the evenings. Use of streaming services increases as people entertain themselves at home. People who stay at home on their holidays and socialise less are said to be cocooning or staycationing.

9.Use the time to develop leads

Create a customer management system or mailing list from the information you have about your customers so that you can use it to keep the sales flowing in your quiet periods. Market yourself as an expert in your field or business sector. Give free webinars or speak at meetings, conferences or events.

10. Focus on building your online social network

Focus your social networking accounts appropriate to your product such as Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook. Keep your information up-to-date, relevant, and professional. Use this time to expand your contact base and to maintain dialogue with them. Make attractive product offers and deals. Warm people up for spring specials.

Good luck with your winter marketing.