Tips to Survive a Slow Season
Stay Visible and Stay Consistent
It’s natural to want to shrink away when things get hard, but it’s so important you stay visible and lead conversations with your audience. Continue to share, post content, let people in behind-the-scenes across all of your digital platforms (website, social media, email newsletters, etc.)
Your presence online is important and how you navigate a slow season will help fuel your business when things pick up again. Share how you’re doing, what you can offer your audience right now and how people can help you. Be transparent, authentic and honest and this will create connections with your audience that can build brand loyalty that will last through this time of uncertainty and into the future.
Embrace the Pause and Update Your Business
So often, we are busy and just doing our best to keep up. We are working in our businesses and not on our businesses. Use this time to slow down and update your website, your marketing plan, your email templates, your business cards, your copy... and so much more.
Every business has different needs and I am sure there is at least one thing that could use your extra attention during a slow season. There is so much value in taking an inward look at your business and allocating your time to update and prepare for when things get busy again, because they will. Your slow season will not last forever.
Get Organized and Create Processes
I’m a big fan of “work smarter, not harder,” especially when it comes to some of the tedious and time-consuming tasks that come with owning a business. Similar to the tip above, take this time to create workflows or processes that will save you time and take the guesswork out of the equation for some of your most common tasks. These can be email templates, social media content guidelines and schedules, brand identity guides, etc. These are processes that you (or your team) can follow to give each client and customer a great experience that always represents your brand and what your audience can come to expect from you.
Ask for Support
How can your audience help support you? Are you offering gift cards? Do you have specific products or services that would be especially helpful during this time? Do you have the option for people to purchase these things online?
There are also free options to help support your business during a slow season! Ask your audience to leave a review on Google or Facebook, write a testimonial to feature on your website, share your social media posts or like your page. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need. We are all in this together and the people that care about you and your business would love to do what they can to help. It’s up to you to let them know how.
Take Care of Yourself
Lastly, take care of yourself. You are allowed to take this quiet time to just slow down and be. Take your extra time and do a little more self-care. Reflect, journal, do some yoga, break out some paints, bake something for the heck of it. I read something the other day that resonated with me, and hopefully it does with you too:
“What if we became curious with free time,
and had no agenda other than to experience being?
What if you created art for the sake of creating?
What if you allowed yourself to rest and cry and laugh and play and get curious about whatever arises in you?
What if our true purpose is in this space?”
— EMMA ZECK
If you are ready to work on your business and need help with your brand, website, marketing materials, and more – we are here for you! Click the button below to schedule a free consultation and we can go over your ideas, goals, and establish a plan that works best for you!