If you operate in the B2B arena, you’ll know that throughout the year there are spells where business slows, you know it’s coming, it happens every year without fail.
So safe in the knowledge it’s coming, we prepare to hold our nerve and then, we’ve all done it, a bank holiday, Summer holidays or Christmas approaches and business slows down, and we start panicking:
What have we changed?
Why is it so slow?
Is our marketing working?
How the holidays affect businesses
With Bank Holidays alone costing the British economy an estimated 2.3bn in lost productivity, it’s easy to understand that during times when we’re off work, things slow down. Of course, this isn’t just limited to public holidays: School Holidays always cause issues for B2B companies as an estimated 43% of decision-makers are off work at any one time.
Usually, if you’re selling to a business, a decision on whether to purchase from you is going to be made from the input of several people with the final say from someone in executive management. Now, if someone in that chain is off on holiday, then decisions are going to be delayed.
Seasonality affects all B2B campaigns
As a digital marketing agency, we see this first hand in client data. I’m sure as most of us will be taking some hard-earned leave this summer, you can bet your last bottle of suntan lotion, B2B advertisers are going to get fewer leads and fewer sales at some point over any holiday period.
It’s going to be annoying, frustrating and you are likely going to consider making some sort of change – don’t.
The best way through an issue is to continue on course and drive straight through it. Don’t stop investing and don’t change your approach. People are still on holiday, and you’re not going to change it, at least, not in a positive way.
How to make the most of it
Consistency and momentum are key when it comes to your marketing campaigns. By all means, work on your internal sales processes, try to bring more clients over the finish line by fine-tuning your lead nurturing. For example, run a sale event, but whatever you do, don’t risk turning a seasonal fluctuation into a downward spiral by overreacting and changing your marketing approach – you stand the real chance of making any slow period a much longer one.
So hold your nerve, divert energy and resources into improving internal processes and you stand to benefit long term from the Summer slowdown.
