For marketers in many industries, work slows down during the summer months as business begins to lag, budgets are reassessed and employees take time off. While some teams will move dormant internal projects off the back burner, engage in professional development or find other ways to leverage the downtime, others take advantage of the inevitable summertime slump by getting ready for fall campaigns.
Staying ahead of the curve as the summer winds down will help them win customers and beat the competition, but the ways in which different marketers prepare for a busy autumn varies. Knowing where to place their focus is key.
Here, 15 members of Forbes Agency Council share their best advice to help marketing leaders and professionals develop a summertime strategy that will ensure the best results come fall.
Forbes Agency Council members share tips to help marketers prepare for fall campaigns.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Narrow The Focus And The Target Universe
Moving into quarter four, the ability to drive growth through widespread targeting becomes less effective. Highly focused targeting on segments that are already performing or are capable of driving organic growth is more effective. – Peter Prodromou, Boston Digital
2. Pivot Toward Face-To-Face As The World Reopens
Pivot and adjust your strategy to accommodate clients, prospects and other stakeholders as the world and businesses reopen. When you are able to meet, don’t underestimate the power of spending one-on-one time with them. In preparing for fall, take advantage of the opportunity to connect face-to-face. – Valerie Chan, Plat4orm PR
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3. Determine High-Level Goals First
Determine your high-level goals first, such as fourth quarter revenue numbers and total sales inquiries, and develop your plan from there. Your fall plan should be actionable and have specific items you need to implement to meet or exceed those goals, such as new content pieces, webinars, social engagement, top-of-the-funnel lead generation and more. Make sure your plan is tangible so you can finish the year strong. – Elyse Flynn Meyer, Prism Global Marketing Solutions
4. Manage Customer Expectations
Product availability becomes scarcer as spending increases, and maintaining staff is proving to be a challenge. It is important to be able to meet the customer where they are in their buying journey. Offer incentives for purchasing available products; for those products that are not immediately available, have a plan in place to manage the customer’s expectations. – Michelle Abdow, Market Mentors, LLC
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5. Balance 2022 Strategy And 2021 Execution
Try to balance your time between strategic planning for 2022 in a matrix environment and executing your 2021 plan with the entire organization’s high sense of urgency and efficiency. Implement early ideas that create momentum in these initiatives; don’t wait to see early results. It’s much easier to pull back on the reins with time on your side. – Dave Oury, Medical Leverage, a communications company
6. Track Everything
Last year may have seemed abnormal to you, but there’s been a shift and change in consumer behavior, and you need to be able to make informed decisions based on data. Don’t assume things will go “back to normal” this year. – Michael Hubbard, Media Two Interactive
7. Don’t Take Time For Granted
Start now. Even light planning and getting pieces into position are important. Fall campaigns end up unnecessarily stressful when people try to cram three months of planning work into one or two. Set yourself up for success. – Nicole Rodrigues, NRPR Group, INC
8. Make Relevant Content More Personal
It’s more important than ever to ensure branded content is personalized and relevant: Consumers are in different places post-pandemic, and one-size-fits-all messaging simply falls flat this year. Try partnering with relatable content creators who can authentically promote your brand to like-minded audiences—for back-to-school season, for example, team up with parents who have legitimate back-to-school needs. – Danielle Wiley, Sway Group
9. Take Stock Of All Delivered Campaigns
One of the most important things to do is take stock of all the campaigns that have been delivered in the past year. Reviewing all of them means that you will be ahead, as that is the best way to ensure you know what went well and what did not. – Jon James, Ignited Results
10. Be Aware Of Industry And Audience Trends
My top advice is to be aware of trends in your industry or within your audience and to use that information in your campaign. By staying up to date with the latest trends, you will continuously put out fresh content that your audience will love. This will also help you stay ahead of your competitors and gain new customers. – Adrian Falk, Believe Advertising & PR
11. Perform A Social Proof Audit Of Key Digital Assets
Marketers should consider performing a social proof audit of the key digital assets within their marketing funnel. If any steps are missing photos, videos or reviews from real people, including influencers, then investments made in the fall/holiday period are going to be less effective. Simply adding user-generated content to key Web pages usually results in a 10% to 20% conversion rate increase. – Lyle Stevens, Mavrck
12. Involve Your Community In An Event That Feels Normal
In a post-Covid world, a safe community event will be met with a warm welcome. It may be a good idea to partner with non-competitors who share similar audiences to host a back-to-school event, an Oktoberfest or a fall fair. This fall offers a great opportunity for brands to gain goodwill and publicity by reengaging with their communities. – Ahmad Kareh, Twistlab Marketing
13. Create Campaigns That Go Into Effect Now
Create campaigns that go into effect now so you can be front of mind as people move into the heaviest spending seasons of the year. Plant your brand and future sales in their minds today, and then issue a follow-up campaign at steady intervals leading up to the holiday season. I’m not suggesting Christmas in July, just a gingerbread crumb here or there to keep people paying attention. – Dmitrii Kustov, Regex SEO
14. Run All Your Test Campaigns Early
Start running all your test campaigns early so that you’re ready to put your best-performing campaigns to work as fall (and its holidays) roll in. Not only is the season starting earlier and earlier each year, but there is a high likelihood that customers will be looking to make up for the uncertainty of last year. This testing should apply to both your inbound and outbound marketing content. – Bernard May, National Positions
15. Don’t Mention Getting Over Covid
Don’t mention getting over Covid in the fall campaigns. It will become tedious real quick. People do not need to be reminded about the past year. Break out with something new, innovative and focused on your brand rather than what has happened. – Peter Boyd, PaperStreet Web Design
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Author: Expert Panel®, Forbes Councils Member
