Melanie
Monday Morning Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Esther of IPA Group, bringing premier online promotion to your business.
Esther
And Melanie of STOMP Social Media Training, who empowers business owners to manage social media and marketing for themselves. We're back with another episode of The Monday Morning Marketing Podcast. Today, we're talking about planning your summer marketing. Yes, we are a little late to the show if you're just joining us here in July, August. But at the time of recording, it is beautifully sunny in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. So we decided that we might want to take time off today. In order to do that, to enjoy the sunshine, we had planned our marketing. Have we done that, Melan?
Melanie
Well, largely, yes. I mean, you and I, we spend a fair bit of time planning with our VA about what the content is going to be per month. We look at what's going to be most talked about, what topics have been raised by people who've sent messages in or emails in. We also look at the type of people who approach us to speak as well. And we say, Okay, can we slot them in as at the right time? And as you know, maybe our listeners haven't been listening, but we also offer the opportunity where you can sponsor a podcast as well. So if you've got an activity or an event coming up at a certain time of year, we would let people know about that, and then they can sponsor the podcast for that month or that quarter, whatever you're looking for. So it's really just getting ahead of yourself and working out, well, what are the expectations of our business? See, everything we do, you and I, we're in the business of managing expectations and not just our customers, but our own as well. What goals or ultimate aims? What's your mission and vision? Literally looking and planning ahead is incorporating all 170 odd podcasts that we've talked about. So it's no small feat. I do get that. So I would think first and foremost for planning my summer marketing is what are my goals and objectives? know, what do I want to get out of it and what do my customers expect of it?
Esther
Yeah, because, well, a lot of times in our line of business, which is strategy and digital marketing training, there's no courses going on over the summer. So your marketing, for example, Melanie, would be more talking about what's coming up in September, October, etc, and after the summer break. Whereas with me having websites, those can be year round. Although we tend to find that a lot of people don't want to plan their websites over their summer because they're either in a really busy industry themselves for summertime is their most mental time of year where they're the busiest, or they are also taking a couple of months off to stay with their family and to do things with the kids and enjoy the brief Irish summer that we have, or take advantage and go to foreign climes and enjoy that.
Melanie
But if- So, yeah, there's lots of things to take into account. I mean, it really depends on if you're getting new staff or you're moving new locations or changing suppliers. It's one thing we hate in this podcast is the word it depends.
Esther
It depends, yes. Such a marketing term.
Melanie
It really does. It really does.
Esther
It does. And we were talking before the podcast that if you have a seasonal business that is busiest during the summer, then your summer marketing should have been started months ago. Sorry to burst your bubble. You cannot just start in the middle of June or July and expect miracles. Miracles can happen because you could be their last minute booking that they're looking for. You could be the person that they are just reaching out to get to. Or you could be listening to us in Australia and your summertime isn't for another few months. So you're still okay.
Melanie
So, I mean, there should be a plan ahead all the time. I mean, if you're a corporate or a large business and or you're maybe doing wedding fairs or event management, then you would have had your goals, objectives. Who's going to be working on what? Team and drivers and runners and all sorts of other things. But the majority of the people who listen to this podcast are smaller businesses. And so what you're going to be doing, so you'll be either a sole trade or maybe three or four, five staff, if that thing. So what your objectives are going to be is, okay, who's going to be around during the summer? Who's going to be off with the kids? Make sure people have booked their holidays, give you plenty of notice, and then work out what do you want done by the end of that month or that quarter. Obviously, measure it against your previous quarter and make sure you're still on target for your end of year goals, which, of course, you would have all written down earlier on this year, I'm sure.
Esther
Of course. Course, because they are always on top of everything.
Melanie
Absolutely.
Esther
But if they aren't, then it's not too late. You can still write down goals for this week, for this month, for this quarter, and still knock it out of the park because we believe in you and you can get this done. And like we're saying, just because you have a seasonal business that is busier in the summer doesn't mean that your marketing is done either, because there are people already watching for next summer. They are looking at your marketing going, are people having fun in that location? Is it somewhere that I would want to go to next summer? Is it somewhere that I want to take my kids to? Is it something that would interest my kids when they're slightly older? All of these things people are always watching. Sounds a bit ominous, but they are. Nobody plans a holiday.
Melanie
Stalker.
Esther
Nobody plans a holiday in a week unless you're me. But there are other people I have friends who plan next year's holidays. They're already planned. They're already ready to go.
Melanie
Well, we're already planned for one, aren't we?
Esther
Well, we are, yeah. Yeah, but because they've done their marketing, they've done the groundwork of this is how good this event is going to be. This is how this location is going to be. You have to create that FOMO, shout out to Making Sang for the FOMO, and you just have to create that desire in people to want to go, even if it's off peak, because your location could be, let's say, a caravan park. I'm only saying that because literally yesterday I was looking up some places to go over the summer, and one place is booked up until December. Now do I really want to go to a caravan over Christmas week? No, I do not. But they're booked up for the rest of the year because of word of mouth, because of FOMO, because people are talking about it, because of their marketing, because of all these factors in together that have made it the place for people to want to go. So when a friend said, Oh, why don't you look at these holidays? And I went in and it said, There is no availability in your location until Christmas week. Okay, no, thank you. But it'll make me look at Christmas for next summer.
Melanie
So let's say you've got all of your objectives, your plans, your staffing, your holidays, your maybe bank holidays or special days or events, all these in place, then you need to get your strategy in place, which could be using a project management tool. It could be using a whiteboard. You may use accountability buddies. Esther and I, we both use accountability buddies as well. So it really depends on how you want to construct your marketing plan, okay? So my suggestion to you is think of your goals first, think of and then measure the come up against where you've already got to, because it's worth considering what has and hasn't worked in the past. And then work out a project management, I suppose. So create a project and then create the tasks that go with it to structure it. Then the really important thing is to keep measuring and keep adjusting and tweaking where you need to. Remember that other things can impact how the end outcome is as well. Maybe events being postponed or cancelled or a new one pops up that you feel is relevant that you should attend or speak at.
Esther
Yes. Now just when you were saying all that, like measuring against past years and past events, just remember at the time of recording that people are still only coming out of their COVID bubbles now. So even last summer might have been slower or less of a boom for your company than this summer could be. Okay, because people, myself included, I went nowhere last year. I was, well, other reasons for that too. But I find that a lot of people were still staying local and doing things locally. Whereas this year, maybe the cost of living crisis will impact what your business achieves over the summertime. Maybe your staff won't want to go away on holiday, they'll just be staying around and could be more flexible if you needed them to come in for a day, if you have a bricks and mortar business, for example. But don't, I mean, the last few years have just been an absolute nightmare in terms of being able to track from one year to the next. I mean, there has not been a consistency going on over the last two, three years. So don't worry if last year's numbers were hopping and this year's are less. Just remember, there are other things and other factors going on in the world that are affecting a lot of people right now.
Melanie
So yeah, it depends.
Esther
In summary. But what we're trying to say here is, if you haven't got your summer marketing sorted for this summer, definitely have it sorted for the autumn time for kids going back to school. Have it sorted for Christmas time. Have it sorted for next Easter. Have it sorted for next summer, have a plan in place. It is never too late to start your plan, and it is never too early to plan ahead.
Melanie
Amen to that. That should be one of our sayings.
Esther
I like that. Yeah, it should. Okay, so on that note, we will leave you for this week, and hopefully next week we will see you back for more Monday morning marketing. Until then, bye-bye.
Melanie
Bye. We sounded really efficient there, didn't we?
Esther
So now our next t-shirt is going to say that phrase that I just said that I now can't remember.
Melanie
That's good that we've got a podcast really in it.
Esther
Go back and listen.
Melanie
Yeah. But do you listen to the podcast, Esther? Or is it just me?
Esther
Of course, I Do.
Melanie
Yeah, yeah.
Esther
Yeah I do. How do you think the show notes get written?
Melanie
Oh, touché.
