It's 70 degrees and sunny in Boston today - just beautiful. Soon the magnolias along Beacon Street will bloom. It's my favorite time of year in the city.
I know that many businesses in the city dread summer because of the inevitable slow down. First, the city loses over a hundred thousand people when all the students leave on summer break. Second, there's a mass exodus of people to Cape Cod, Maine and the like.
Combined with the fact that Boston is actually losing population, and that can make for tricky business. This is especially true for those in retail businesses,
Many businesses, sensing the slowdown, reduce their marketing budget during this time. Many cease their advertising, or at least advertise less. The logic is that when business is slow more advertising isn't going to help. I believe this is a mistake.
Research shows that businesses that advertise consistently through economic slowdowns outpace their competitors during that time. Not only that, but when economic conditions improve, they do even better than their competition who were inconsistent.
Why is this so? Several reasons:
- People need multiple exposures to advertising to respond to it. If they see your ad for a while, and then it disappears, your business leaves their consciousness.
- When your competition stops advertising, but you keep it up, you stand to win customers that won't be aware that your competition even exists.
- By advertising consistently your brand will seem stronger. People will be more attracted to your business.
- Sometimes people just aren't ready to buy the first time they see your ad. By having it in front of them all the time, when they are ready - they are more likely to choose you.
Consistent action is the key to any marketing effort, and advertising is no exception.
J D Moore - Marketing Comet
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