Ahhhh, we can hear your thoughts right now. “It’s July, why are we talking about marketing during the slow months? It’s still the growing season!” That’s because, with marketing, it’s best to plan ahead at least one season so you’re not scrambling around at the last minute.
Just like you plan out your holiday promotions in advance, planning your marketing strategy months in advance will do nothing but help you out when the time comes. Remember, the slow season isn’t a pause in your marketing — it’s when you build momentum for the next busy season. So let’s dive in and nail this down for you, shall we?
A common misconception
When customer traffic slows for any reason (in this case, it’s because of the naturally slower winter months in gardening), many garden centers and growers reduce or stop marketing altogether. It feels logical to cut back when sales are down, right?
But the businesses that have the strongest spring season are often the ones that stayed visible to their customer base over the winter. Keep in mind that marketing isn’t just about today’s sales — it’s about building momentum for tomorrow’s customers.
Customers don’t disappear during the winter season. While they might not be buying hanging baskets in January, they are still:
- Planning next year’s garden
- Researching plants
- Looking for garden inspo
- Shopping for gifts
- Reading newsletters
- Browsing social media
- Saving items/ideas on Pinterest
So if your business disappears at the end of November, someone else’s business is all too ready to fill that void.
So what can you do?
- Focus on education rather than selling: In your social media and newsletters, give them content like winter pruning tips, houseplant care, seed starting, garden planning worksheets, plant spotlight series, common gardening mistakes, and Q & A with staff.
- Strengthen your email list: Don’t just share promotions! Share seasonal advice, tell customer stories, introduce staff members, highlight what’s happening behind the scenes, or ask subscribers what they’d like to learn this year. This keeps your audience engaged until they’re ready to buy.
- Show the work that customers never see: Show how your staff receives new inventory, prepares new inventory, grows plants in the greenhouse, plans spring orders, pots seedlings, decorates for the holidays, and maintains equipment. This type of content humanizes your business and is typically very popular on social media.
- Improve your website: Update old pages, work on your SEO, add fresh photography, write blog posts, refresh staff bios, speed up your site, create landing pages for your spring events. You know — the kinds of things you wish you’d done when April rolls around.
- Create content now to be used later when you’re busy: Record evergreen garden videos, write newsletters, schedule social posts, build next year’s marketing calendar, work on your website’s photography. Future you will be grateful!
- Build anticipation: Sneak peeks, countdown posts, “coming soon” videos, spring preview emails, early even announcements, new variety spotlights. This allows people to feel like insiders. And people always love feeling like insiders. We’re vain that way.
- Stay connected with customers: Here’s where you can dive into deeper layers on connection. Respond to reviews/comments, feature loyal customers, run fun polls, celebrate community events, share employee stories, ask/answer gardening questions. Relationships formed now often result in sales later.
Remember, you’re gardeners. Gardeners don’t wait until harvest season to plant the seeds! The slow season is when you prepare the soil, plant ideas, and cultivate relationships so that, when buying season arrives, your business is already front and center. Much growth can happen during the dormant season!
