Today we are going to talk about business. Business of course comes in all forms. There are people who run services, make exciting travel experiences, and even those who provide technology solutions for our everyday lives. However, how do people come up with ideas for business?
It can be a strange concept to think that someone can be in the shower, on the bus or even having a dream and come up with something new and exciting for themselves and the wider world. But a lot of the time it is these eureka moment which set a whole new empire in motion.
If you want to start thinking about making your own business, one of the most important things you want to consider is to make sure that your idea is something people can take advantage of all year round. You wouldn’t want to to trying to sell knitted hats and scarves in the middle of summer. Finding a business idea which works no matter what the season is the first step to creating that winning idea.
What do we mean by all season?
Think about a restaurant. They will be able to operate all year round and pull in different types of people throughout the year and cater their menu to the seasons.
In the spring they might hold Easter egg hunts in the beer garden for the kids, and serve fresh salads and soups, as well as chargrilled chicken dishes and rich pasta bakes. In the summer time, if the restaurant has an outdoor area, they can whip out the briquetting press, light the barbecue and hold weekend events for people who have travelled to the area on holiday. Sun, smoke and lots of drink will make for that perfect summer atmosphere.
Through the autumn they may bring in warming soups, hearty stews and plenty of freshly made bread for the masses. And then to celebrate winter they could hold Christmas dinner for those who don’t want to cook, as well as special festive favourites like mince pies and Christmas pudding.
This example shows that a business can tailor their services to the time of year, and they will stay lucrative and of interest all year round. Of course, if you are running a business such as building house extensions then it might be more difficult to stay relevant the whole year round- but with clever market tactics and special events you can stay in people’s mind throughout the year.
How do we stay fresh throughout the seasons?
Merchandising: if you are a company which sells physical products, catering your business to the masses can be a lot easier than if you are offering a service. The reason for this is that you can change packaging designs, scents and bring out new ranges to suit each season. In the winter you can focus on gifting ranges and bundle smaller products into one gift for Christmas. During the summer you will want to push the holiday culture and sell things which are travel sized and easy to take away to foreign lands. It all will depend on the market you work within and you will learn what your customers want and need out of you throughout the year.
Marketing: in terms of marketing, the best way to start your strategy is to sit down with a calendar and find out when all national holidays are throughout the year. You can then tailor the strategy to different seasons according to events. If you were Marketing throughout Christmas: you could hold a 12 days of Christmas event on your social media channels where if people like and share your post, they have the chance to win a prize. 12 prizes for 12 days and you will likely gain a wide engagement from this because people like freebies.
If you have an instagram feed, you will want to really pay attention to your colour schemes throughout the year. If you look at some of the biggest brands in the world, they will create different themes throughout the year and use these to push their products or services. In the spring colours usually focus around pastels and light yellows and green. In the summer anything bright goes, in the autumn you will want to take advantage of reds, coppers and orange. Then in the winter, classic white, red and green is something you can’t go wrong with. Make sure your audience stays interested and notices you throughout the year.
Extra tips:
- take advantage of current events. If you see that everyone is talking about a certain TV show or movie series- create a marketing campaign based around it and share it to join in the conversation. This is what happened a lot during 2017 when Game Of Thrones season 7 was released. With it being the most popular TV show in the world, many brands made special products or created recipes and makeup looks based on the show.
- Be yourself. The most important thing to remember when running a business is to stay true to yourself and the brand. If you are interested in a certain topic, use it in your product campaigns or marketing strategy. You need to stay authentic in order to gain that loyal following and stay relevant.
- Use hashtags. You’ll notice that throughout different times of the year you will see different hashtags trending on social media. Make sure that when you are creating content for your website and social media that you use these hashtags to give your content a higher chance of being seen and noticed by a wider audience
- Use your location. It doesn’t matter whether you have a small retail store or you are an office based in the city. Using the local knowledge and talking to local people will help you gain more traction and success. If it snowed last night, make sure you share a post which relates to it and even out a sign up outside the store referring to the weather. If you cater to the people local to you, you will grow and develop as a successful business much more quickly. All year round.
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