The Other F-Word

Let’s be honest – there are few things that can upset your day quite like seeing Christmas decorations for sale in July.

Or August, that magical time of year where you can buy both sunscreen, and a children’s snowsuit, in the same store.

Thankfully the days are still warm, the sun is still shining, and the late evening sunsets are still a thing of beauty. However, as much as we try to put it out of our minds, we all know something breezier is lurking just around the corner.

That’s right, it’s that other f-word. Fall.

While the season doesn’t officially start for almost six weeks (and thankfully still offers plenty of warm days), its arrival will be here before we know it.

These few weeks often feel like the time when ‘everyone’ is on vacation, and truth be told most of us are trying to squeeze in that last weekend at the cottage, or that last road trip with the family before the leaves turn.

Even though we’re physically away, we’re already turning our minds towards Fall as we realize that once the temperatures cool and the kids are back in school it’s time to really get back to business.

So what are you doing to get ready?

One of the greatest challenges for marketing is the age-old rule that says ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ If you’re an entrepreneur, and clients held off using your services over the Summer because they were away, you may not automatically spring to mind as soon as they return back to a Fall routine.

Don’t sweat it if your marketing has taken a nap over the summer, but this is the perfect time to wake it up. Now is when you should be spreading the word, and telling your story and how you can help others.

Think about this time of year from your client’s perspective. Why is it that they want to take action now, instead of let’s say continuing to hold off until 2023?

Is this the perfect time to lock in to a new home purchase or a new mortgage at the great price, given the unpredictability of the market?

Are there changes coming to the law this Fall that require your legal clients to take action to make sure that they’re compliant?

Are you preparing to sell a new product or service that everyone should know about ahead of the holiday shopping season?

The economy may continue to change, and none of us know with any certainty what’s coming down the pipeline next. What we can do, though, is prepare to succeed based on what’s in our control.

Here are a few things that we can do to keep thinking ahead.

Have A Plan For Your Marketing

We may not have a crystal ball, but we can avoid doing things haphazardly. If your clients have turned their minds away from your business strategy, the chances are that you have as well. Give some serious strategic thought to how you’re going to continue to grow your client base this Fall, and where your clients are looking for you.

What can you offer them that’s new within the next few months? Is there an industry trend or change in the news that you really should be talking about? Does your website desperately need a face lift that you’ve been putting off? Have you kept up consistently with your social media strategy? Having a plan ensures that you’re not throwing things out there haphazardly while still expecting amazing results.

Prepare to Pivot

The economy is in a bit of upheaval between rising inflation and interest rates, massive layoffs in various sectors and talent shortages in others. We’re all trying to recover from a pandemic, and collectively we’re all trying to figure out what comes next. After two years of navigating a collective panic and intermittent lockdowns, the last word that you probably want to hear is ‘pivot.’

Instead, it’s time to embrace it. If we’ve developed one stronger skill through this recent crisis, it should be agility. Lockdowns meant that stalwart brick and mortar businesses suddenly shifted towards online retail, and other businesses with a lackluster internet presence realized it was time to shape up. We may not know what’s coming next, but staying agile and flexible in those plans will help navigate any weather to ensure that our businesses succeed.

Keep Telling Your Story

I’ll admit it – I’m as guilty of this as anybody. When you feel like you’ve told the whole world over and over again what you do, you naively assume that everyone remembers all of the time, and that they know exactly when to call you and for exactly what reason. They know you, so of course they’re going to think to reach out in a time of need…right?

Wrong! That’s simply not how marketing works. It takes multiple impressions to really be memorable, and many more than that to leave a real imprint. Make sure that anyone who needs your product or services knows who you are, what you do, and how you can help. Do that through regular written content, through visuals, through audio and video, through digital advertising or any combination thereof. When you think you’re telling your story too often, it’s still not enough.

If you need help sharing your story, that’s what The Write Stuff Agency is all about. My job as a storyteller is to help you tell not only your story, but your success stories, your educational stories, and the stories that will resonate the most with your potential clients.

Want to know more? Contact me through this link or via email at shaun@thewritestuff.agency and let’s see how we can work together.

In the meantime, please enjoy one of my favourite seasonal memes. It gets me every time.

Happy F-word.