Restaurants are the ultimate seasonal business regardless of location. Phoenix-area restaurant owners know they have to take advantage of winter months when snowbirds and vacationers swell the population to escape Midwest and Northeast winters. Michael Volpatt, owners of Big Bottom Market in Guerneville, Calif., understands his peak months are in the summer when wineries attracts thousands of tourists.
Volpatt told the New York Times that weekly sales in the company’s first year peaked at $24,000 in August before plummeting to $4,000 by mid-November. It prompted layoffs and forced the company to re-vamp its off-season strategy. Big Bottom began offering lower-priced wines in the summer to attract locals, started marketing directly to locals, and extended operating hours. The company also started a catering service and a food truck that delivered to customers.
Off-season down time, regardless of company type, should be used to both maximize profits when business picks back up and supplement company revenues.
Complimentary Products and Services
Joe Densieski, owner of Nu Green Landscaping in Riverhead, New York, told Entrepreneur magazine the obvious service he could offer in the winter time was snow removal. But there were already hundreds of companies addressing that need, so he had to think outside the box. Densieski instead became the local distributor of a environmentally friendly de-icing agent. He not only doubled his winter profits, but was able to keep half of his employees on staff year round.
Ice cream shops have particularly unique winter opportunities. Jennifer Ng, author of an ice cream travel guide, points out how most shops close in the winter. But several have been successful selling coffee, cake, sandwiches, and other all-season eats in the off-season. Jeff Coy, of Hotel Waterpark Resort Research and Consulting, wrote that 46 percent of ski resorts offer mountain biking trails and another 37 percent have built on-site golf courses.
Always use your existing infrastructure first for off-peak endeavors to ensure maximum profits. Do all the necessary market research, particularly questionnaires for existing customers, before investing in new products or service.
Off-Season Marketing
All small business owners are vulnerable to demotivation during off-peak months. There’s far less money coming in, which means less inspiration to update social media accounts and keep fresh content on the blog. This time should be used for keeping existing customers engaged and creating new leads.
Ask customers to write reviews of your products when the peak season is coming to a close. The sooner they write them, the fresher the experience is going to be in their minds. These reviews can be posted on your website, used in email marketing campaigns, and even as social media updates. Keep your blog active as well.
The more compelling, clickable content you publish, the more pages that will index in search engines. That means more traffic to your site and opportunities to convert leads into customers.
Another idea is to invest in email lists and leads. Insurance agents, for instance, can purchase high quality leads of customers already looking for a policy. Many marketers have turned to renting email lists from already-established firms with similar customer bases. The return on renting versus buying is higher because recipients are already expecting correspondence from the company you rent from.
Consulting
New business creation is down in the U.S. But the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity still estimates more than 500,000 new business are created every month. Many new business owners will seek advice from people with a successful track record. You should be one of them.
All successful entrepreneurs — those who have been in business for more than five years — have a story to tell and guidance to offer. Use your social media accounts to offer consulting sessions in your areas of expertise. But don’t limit it to your primary line of work.
For instance, a fashion designer could offer advice on crowdfunding if that’s how his business came to be. A chef can offer cooking classes, while lawyers can offer tutoring for law students.
The more you reduce businesses’ cyclical tendencies, the more consistent profits you’ll generate. There will always be peaks and valleys. But creativity and flexibility will help bridge the gap between the two.
