Autumn and winter marketing ideas
What attracts clients during the cold season?
What marketing ideas are especially effective in autumn and winter?
To find the answers to these questions, we contacted over 100 companies.
Ikebana masterclass
A nice example: in autumn, event-agencies organize free floral design masterclasses. They use ‘autumn’ ingredients: yellow leaves, acorns, cones. An action may last 3 – 5 days. Throughout this time, there is a 30% discount on the services. Please note that there are masterclasses on nearly everything, but the marketing idea must fit your laser tag club.
Free jam from the director
Right before New Year, managers and directors bring gifts and souvenirs to meetings with corporate clients. A great memorable option is ‘free jam from the CEO’.
That can be, for instance, raspberry, apricot or orange jam with pine nuts.
When choosing a yummy gift, make sure that you add special meaning to it, for example, by comparing the ingredients to the positive qualities of your club. You can present your gift together with a mini photo album, which will be filled with fun facts about how you had prepared the gift (picked the berries, boiled the jam and filled the jars with it). Naturally, the photos and the labels on the jars will be prepared by your creative group or specialists – photographers and designers.
Marketing experts believe that this is an excellent idea for small businesses, as long as it is realised correctly.
One shouldn’t hold such campaigns every year. A company that realises such an idea sets up a high standard for themselves. Next time, clients will expect same creative gift.
Keep them warm and toasty
It’s cold outside. Offer your audience something that will comfort them. Are people in a nasty mood? Offer them something that will cheer them up.
While sharing event posters and announcements in social networks, add an interesting article to them, such as ‘How can you protect yourself against hypothermia’, ‘Keeping your feet warm’, ‘How can you strengthen your immune system and relieve the symptoms of a cold’.
For after a game on an open playground, especially in spring and autumn, hypothermia and health conditions that result from it are highly possible. Show the players the solutions to these issues and you will always have loyal permanent customers.
These materials can be published on info pages of your partners as well as in the local mass media – not only will the articles contain useful information – they will spread information about the services provided by your laser tag club in a subtle way.
Holidays
The major autumn and winter holidays are: Halloween, Christmas, New Year, St. Valentine’s Day.
Take the most of the World Smile Day (7 October) and of the World Thank You Day (11 January).
Such holidays have a marketing potential, but placing a focus on them can be quite risky.
If you want your campaign to work, follow these seven rules.
1. Promote only the most popular goods/ services.
If a product is new, spread the word about it first. Then, provide the reasons why it is worth buying.
2. Remember about effectiveness.
Think about when the marketing idea will pay off. Clients expect significant discounts. If you are not ready to offer more than 15% off, you had better give up the idea of discounts altogether. Try promo codes, bonuses and gifts instead.
3. Try to find clients’ hidden needs.
The support you give to your customers will trigger positive emotions in them. For example, you can suggest that club members and permanent (own) players that have a car help other clients, who have applied for participation in an international game, for instance, to get to the polygon.
4. Adopt an effective financial model.
Calculate the value of your services for the client. This approach works in the b2b sector, when working with corporate clients.
5. Take clients’ feelings seriously.
Avoid doing anything that may hurt consumers’ feelings. Provocative moves may only be effective when it comes to working with the young audience or with freaks. There are not a lot of them, though. Good results can be achieved among over 50% common consumers of services by using simple and clear signals.
6. Remember about classic approaches.
Sales models that involve influencing receptors are highly likely to work. For example, it must smell of leather at a shoe repair. It must be nice and tidy at a dry cleaner’s without any chemical smell. Same with a laser tag club – it must stimulate positive emotions.
7. Offer gifts to your clients.
Offer your clients things that you needn’t spend anything on or that are inexpensive. Think in advance why the present may be useful to the clients and make sure they know about that.
