AdvertiseCurrent Issue
Are You Capturing Those Summer Tourists?
It's June, which means we've now officially entered the Summer Tourist. Are you capturing information for those summer vacationers coming into your place of business? If not, you could be losing out on a year-round valuable business asset.
By Eric Groves 2 minute Read
It's June, which means we've now officially entered the Summer
Tourist. Are you capturing information for those summer vacationers coming into your place of business? If not, you could be losing out on a year-round valuable business asset.
The first step in driving repeat business is to know who
your customers are. Even if they only come around once a year or for part of the year, you still want to know who they are so you can get them to come back again. Seasonal businesses need to be collecting their customers' information and using it to make connections with them. Doing so will allow them to stay engaged throughout the year, top of mind when they are making subsequent year's planning, give referrals to friends, and result in the ability to start your seasons earlier and extend them further by encouraging loyal customers to return during off-peak periods.
A great example of this in action is the Farmer's Market
in Belleville, Ill. With two locations open year-round, this produce retailer's peak season is typically the summer and early fall when families are on the hunt for the freshest vegetables available. But, during the colder months, business tails off because customers don't want to make an extra stop during inclement
weather to buy produce.
To boost sales during the slow period (and overall), the
Farmer's Market did two things: First, it started an email marketing list and collects addresses from customers who want to receive special offers twice a week. Second, it began a loyalty program that donates a portion of each customer's receipt to the local school of her choice. These people were also put on an email list. Now, on slower days, the store will send out a note offering
an extra percentage of the sale to the customer's charity if she shops on that day.
As a result of these efforts, the Farmer's Market has greatly flattened the seasonality sales curve because it knows who its customers are and is giving them an incentive to return more often. Even on cold days when customers are not at all interested in making that extra stop, they do because of the Farmer's Market's efforts.
You can watch Rick Delashmit, general manager of the Farmer's Market, discuss his company's email marketing efforts and its effect on business here.
Naturally, this advice applies to any seasonal business, not just summer tourist hotspots. Ski areas, spring break destinations, and fall foliage tour operators, to name a few, should all be capturing customer data in an effort to better market their businesses and drive repeat business season after season.
Eric Groves is CEO and co-founder of Alignable (alignable.com). Alignable, the social network for local businesses to connect, collaborate, find new customers, share and learn with industry peers. Prior to co-founding Alignable, Eric was SVP Sales & Business Development at Constant Contact for 10½ years where he led the company's go to market efforts growing the business from start-up stage to 400,000 customers and $200MM in revenue
Technology Newsletter
These carbon offsets counter your emissions while helping rain forest workers access healthcare
One million seabirds died in the North Pacific during 2016's brutal ocean heatwave
Which U.S. cities' transportation networks are doing the best for the climate?
20 years ago, the dot-coms took over the Super Bowl
Watch this YouTuber's creative correction of the nightmarish character design in 'Cats'
What Beyoncé's Ivy Park x Adidas launch means for the new age of celebrity brands
Hero dad turns his son's sketch into a real dresser
The Outsider Art Fair is the offbeat escapism we all need right now
Ceramics get a futuristic makeover
This is why you should have your own personal communication style
The most common days for people to call in 'sick' aren't what you think
Follow these 5 tips if you want to make a career pivot