As summer starts to edge closer, so does the season of long weekends, extended vacations and other trips out of town. When your customers are gone, how do you keep your business busy? Here we offer five marketing ideas to help keep your small business hot during the summer. Grab a glass of lemonade and read on:

1. Make a reason to celebrate.

It may seem that between Memorial Day and Labor Day, only Fourth of July stands out as the lone holiday of the summer. That’s not exactly true – summer is chock full of zany holidays: July is National Ice Cream Month; International Friendship Day falls on the cusp of July and August; Saint Jonas’ Festival happens every June 24^th. You can use any of these interesting holidays as reason for special promotions or events, all the more special because, really, who else is celebrating International Friendship Day?

2. Do a good deed.

Your business may already be associated with a special cause or charity; if not, now is the time to get rolling. Summer is the perfect time to organize a community service day or host an outdoor barbecue fundraiser. Invite everyone to become involved: customers, employees, other local businesses. Special causes help you give back to your community and connect with potential customers who share similar values with you.

3. Shorten your social media To-Do list.

You may have a lot of items on your To-Do list, things that keep getting pushed down by higher priorities: updating your blog, starting a Twitter account, researching a mobile app for your business. Social media can be a great way to run seasonal promotions and contests.

4. Spread the word.

If you’ve been meaning to book a speaking engagement or two, now’s the time to go ahead. Many clubs and associations, like Kiwanis International, meet year-round and are always on the lookout for speakers. Speaking engagements are opportunities to communicate what you know and love – and network with others interested in the same.

5. Spread the love.

Host a party, like an afternoon grill-out, in honor of customer appreciation. Invite your customers and let them bring a guest or two. Promote your event through Yelp.com, as well as through your other social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter. For an added bonus, arrange a prize contest or giveaway for one of your products or services.

How often have you seen companies invest time in marketing efforts only to fall short by not following through on the service side?  I’ve seen this a lot lately with Twitter and Facebook.   Though both social media seem to scream the marketer’s equivalent of Alice in Wonderland’s bottle “Drink Me,” neither will make a company successful unless the basics are there.  Regardless of your product, service or solution, your customers must first trust you enough to take the leap of faith and give you their business.  How do you do that?  By listening to what they want, need and care about, by communicating responsibly and efficiently with them, and finally by delivering what you say you will.

I recently came across a fitness company that does a remarkable job of Twittering and using Facebook.  Good following, good messaging, with impeccable timing and frequency of messages.  Their goals are to reinforce loyalty amongst their studio members, while gently keeping themselves front of mind with their Twitter/Facebook followers.  All good.  But the problem is in the follow up and follow through – almost non-existent.  The company doesn’t return phone calls nor email requests for information.  Class schedules are changed without advance notice, oftentimes leaving the students waiting at the door with no instructors.  And, as a result all that time and effort spent on messaging via social media is going to waste as attrition is now becoming a huge issue for the company.  It is only a matter of time until their followers turn on them and start using the very Social Media that brought them to the company to voice their displeasure.  The old adage that nothing will kill a business more than consistently setting expectations and then missing them rings true today – regardless of the communication tools used.  

Make sure before you start messaging you have the commitment, focus and accountability built in your company culture to get the things done you say you will.  Consider our upcoming Time Management Seminar, Workshop or Class to help you and your staff and complement this with one of the myriad of time management systems.  One of my favorites is Getting Things Done by David Allen.  It doesn’t matter which you choose – you’ll find what’s right for you and your company.  The important thing is to make it a cornerstone competency in your company.