Though the winter season can be a great time for many companies (like snowplows, ski resorts, and chain retail stores), it can be a low period for many others. The ‘Winter Slump’ doesn’t just pertain to seasonal sales but also company energy, work ethic, and overall mood.
Luckily, there are ways to avoid both the sales and the mood slumps – and I feel I’ve near-perfected it. Between living in Indiana and Michigan who get to enjoy about 5 months of winter and turning my startup into a successful and self-sufficient business, I have a lot of experience jumping the hurdles of thin sales seasons and winter.
What Causes Winter Slumps?
Winter Sales Slumps
Winter sales might spike around Black Friday and Christmas, but many companies don’t see this extra revenue coming in around November and December. Companies in tech manufacturing (not sales to the public), SaaS, and many digital services slump around the end of the year.
Part of this slump is due to companies focusing more on the holidays than on their tech or marketing needs, and part of this has to do with budgets. But a big part of it is simply the season and the fact that people don’t want to go out as much in the winter, and ‘putting things off until after the holidays’ is a common theme in the final months of the year.
Winter Mood Slumps
Everyone knows that winter can affect our moods, but that in turn can affect our productivity, efficiently, and ambition in the office. And when you add in the holidays, breaking up routine, and making the end of the year seem to fly by – it can be tough to get almost anything done.
Winter mood and morale slumps are something to plan for and be guarded against, just like winter sales slumps – because, in the end, your employees are your biggest assets.
How to Avoid Winter Sales Slumps
The best way to survive a winter sales slump is to actually plan for it.
Act as if you know it will happen, that way you’ll either be pleasantly surprised if it doesn’t hit, or prepared if it does – a true win-win.
Also, it doesn’t hurt to remember to push through and know that the slump will end. Likely, you’ll get to a sales peak in the near future. This positive attitude will come up again later as we talk about mood slumps too, so it’s an important theme.
Of course, if you want to avoid a winter sales slump all together, you need a solid marketing plan that works with you, your goals, and understands the ebb and flow that come with any seasonal sales product or service.
Here are a few ideas for your winter marketing plans:
- Increase your ad budgets around this time
- Run new promotions
- Work with professionals
- Digital marketing and SEO
- Use your downtime wisely
- Prepare for the new year
How to Avoid Winter Mood Slumps
Avoiding the winter blues in the office can be just as big of a hurdle as avoiding winter sales slumps, but luckily there are things you can do. But the biggest of all – keeping a positive attitude and looking forward to good things to come!
Ways to erase those winter blues:
- Stay warm at home & at the office
- Set goals for yourself and your team that are attainable
- Utilize artificial sunlight – we all need vitamin D
- Eat healthy (no crazy New Year’s diet) and incentivize health at work
- Try to take time off for fun, sun, and relaxation (& approve vacation hours for your team, too)
- Understand energy levels and look for signs of a problem
- Have a holiday party or two, this can actually raise mood & efficiency in the office
- Show your staff that you care and appreciate their work
Need Marketing Help or Business Planning for This Year’s Winter Slump? Contact Me for a Free Consultation!
There is only so much you can do to encourage your workforce to protect themselves against a winter slump in mood, but you can guard against a sales slump with business planning and a strong marketing strategy.
Contact me to learn more about digital services, marketing plans, or schedule a business consultation, and let’s work together to get ahead of the winter sales slump and end this year strong!
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