6 Summer Promotion Ideas for Small Businesses

Summer is here and (hopefully) the sun will shine because when it does, as consumers our behaviour changes. With a relaxing break from work, people are looking to buy and for a small business, that means enticing them with great summer promotions.

1. Summer loyalty cards

You know the kind of thing – buy six coffees and get your 7th free or as one hotel chain offers, stay 10 nights and get the 11th free. Anything that entices people to buy in the first place but then to buy again and within a given timeframe is perfect for grabbing new customers. To make the most of this, hire a team of dynamic flyering staff to put the offer directly into the hands of your customers.

2. Summer sampling promotions

People love getting things for free but just giving out free stuff isn’t maximising this opportunity. On the other hand, hire professional sampling staff for summer promotions will make all the difference. Not only do sampling staff entice people to try, but they also talk about the product to customers and with tasty deals and discounts on offer, you’ll enjoy more sales (research suggests three times more sales – who can turn that down?!).

3. Flash summer sales

As a retail business, even though we are in the height of summer, your mind will be turning to the next big retailing events: Black Friday in November which leads nicely up to the Christmas selling season. And this means making space in your warehouse or storeroom for your winter stock.
What could be better than a flash summer sale? As well as events in-store, why not consider a pop-up store too? As well as flyering staff promoting your flash sale on the busy streets, temporary sales staff will be making a difference in-store by maximising sales and keeping the sale floor tidy too.

4. Responsive promotions – Keep an eye on the weather

Hopefully, temperatures will soar and the sun will shine for days on end. But if there is one thing that can be predicted about the great British weather it is its unpredictability. Keeping your eye on the weather means you can respond with different promotions that tap into the needs of customers.
Is rain forecast? As well as offering umbrellas at a great price, what about ponchos? Or maybe you could have a lunchtime drinks promotion, great for people needing to quench their thirst at the hottest part of the day.

5. Partner up

Collaborating with local charities and non-profit organisations show that your business has something else besides making a profit on its mind. Offering to donate X% of the cost of a product to a local charity will increase sales for you and the charity won’t complain about receiving a cash boost either.

6. Offer classes

Add value to the products you offer by helping customers expand their skill set. And so a local café offering chocolate decorating or cake decorating classes makes perfect sense – and will win a legion of new fans and customers.

Don’t forget – contact us for help with promotional and temporary staffing needs!