Why you should market through the summer holidays

Take a look at most marketing calendars and the month of August will typically be left empty, but will this be the case this year? alan. MD Richard Hadler discusses.

Now, I should preface this blog by saying, I truly hope that you are able to have a summer holiday break. It’s well deserved after the 18 months we’ve all had. 

Sadly, we may find that more people are at work during this “quiet” period than we anticipated. High demand for UK holiday houses, changing overseas travel rules and a raging “pingdemic” could force a lot of people to work through the summer months.

So how can you as B2B marketers engage with this potential new audience during a trying time?

Consider how you can help your customers in the run up to the September planning period. What can you do to lend a helping hand to your base? 

In our recent panel discussion at B2B Ignite, Tara Robertson, CMO at Teamwork discussed how some brands have successfully gotten closer to their customers during the pandemic. 

“The biggest thing that you saw brands do these last 18 months, the ones that stuck out from the pack, are the ones that focused on a more human-led approach. They became more community-driven,” she said.

“There is a huge wave of community led growth that started to show up this year when it was less about who I am, what my product is, and more about who I'm interacting with.”

This could be the perfect opportunity for brands to put this community-minded approach into practice.

The likelihood is that these are people who either should have been, or wanted to be, on holiday at this time. The tone you use for your communications will be important to achieve cut-through.  

Don’t feel that you have to use a solemn tone. B2B doesn’t have to be boring, afterall. Take a lighthearted approach. Make them laugh if you can - they deserve it. 

In fact, flat out honesty may be your best policy here. Something along the lines of “We know you’d rather be on holiday right now, so let us transport you somewhere nice for a few minutes… before we talk mortgages”.  

Summer holidays are a sacred thing to the Brits. The unwritten rules around not marketing during this period are long-standing. However, once again the pandemic has forced us to consider how we do things. 

While no-one wants to be reminded of the holiday they have lost, there is scope to create a cheering campaign that proves useful to your customers. 

Maybe this year, don’t take the foot off the gas during the summer months and see how you can provide resources to your customers that make you invaluable as they plan the year ahead.

Ready to provoke the truth?

Get in touch.
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