It’s Oh So Quiet… How to Boost Your Small Business in Quiet Times – Part 1

There are several reasons why your business might go through a?quiet time. It could be that your target group is on holiday or that your product itself is seasonal. It could also be that you have been so busy, you stopped marketing your small business. Either way, finding ways to boost your small business in quiet times is vital!

In the last few years, thanks to a pandemic and a cost of living crisis, many businesses have been operating on what feels like a rollercoaster of ups and downs. This can be stressful, but there are ways to handle the droughts! In this article, I’ll outline 3 key ways to boost your business in quiet times and take care of yourself along the way.

Find out more about causes for quieter times in business and what you can do about them or check out my five-step action plan to boost your business when you're in a quiet spell on my blog!

Quieter times are a bit of a double-edged sword for small business owners.?When you are busy?you yearn for a quiet week, so?you can finally feel in charge again and get everything settled down.

But as soon as it’s quiet, you start worrying about how long business is going to be slow and what caused this sudden drop. Especially seeing that our biggest priorities for keeping the business running are a healthy cash flow and attracting new customers.

So what to do when fewer clients call or customers don’t flock to your online shop as much as usual? Let’s have a look at how you can boost your small business in quiet times.

…And what to do about it

1. Boost your marketing

Especially in quiet times, we have to be even more active when it comes to attracting new business. Counter-intuitive as it may be when your bank account looks a little lost and you don’t know when the next cash comes in.

But boosting your marketing to improve your sales is the best way to pep up your quiet business. For example, to liven up your small business in quiet times, you could start a time-limited special offer to get people through the door as soon as possible.

You can either use service providers like?Itison ?to communicate your services or products to their vast audience. Or you can use your own marketing channels to announce a special event for your loyal customers. Use?social media?and your?company newsletter?for competitions, early bird specials or previews of the next release.

It’s important to know that this doesn’t mean you have to offer a discount as that can be a double-edged sword for small businesses. Find out how you can?compete on value rather than price .

Also, if the drop in new customers is due to seasonality, make sure to add these marketing boosts to your marketing plan for next year. This way you can start promoting early to improve your sales during the quieter times or prevent your business from going quiet in the first place.

Find out?how you can get a marketing plan in place for your small business .

2. Get ready for growth

Another good use for less busy times is to have a look at your?work processes?and business structure and look for ways to improve them. Do you need more staff? Always dreamed of getting that tailor-made software for your company? Or how about that equipment that would make work a lot more efficient for you? Now is the time.

This also applies to your marketing: Quieter times are the best time to finally revamp that website of yours, review last month’s activities and?start planning?for the rest of the year.

Have another look at your?marketing strategy?and update it if necessary. A lot of my clients get in touch during the summer months as that is the best time for them to work?on?rather than?in?their business. Your business changes all the time,?so make sure your marketing is keeping up.?

You can also have another look at your product and apply the latest customer feedback to improve your offer and customer experience. Or how about starting that podcast you’ve been thinking about or trying out that new marketing channel? Now is the time.?

And when you’ve got that big event or marketing campaign coming up in a few months, getting started early will save you time later on when business gets back to normal again. Use the time to prepare for busier times.

Struggling to get your social media strategy under control? Here’s how to?get organised and get your content out there !

3. Relax and recharge

Last but not least, you should think about yourself to boost your small business in?quiet times. When was your last holiday? When did you last read a book without being interrupted every five minutes?

Quieter times are the perfect opportunity to recharge, get away from the company for a few days and come back well-rested and with fresh ideas. Work-life balance is essential to running a successful business – check out my recent post on?how to get the balance right!

Your business relies on you to take the reins and?be at your best all the time?so make sure to look after yourself. If you are on your own, simply inform suppliers and clients and get the out-of-office email ready.

If you have a team to support you, let them know what needs to be done while you are away. And then go and enjoy your holiday: Switch off your work emails and social media notifications and relax!

Considering hiring your first employee to help run your business??Here’s what you need to know .

Taking Control

One final thing to note is that regularly reviewing your business progress can help you take control of quieter times. If you set a non-negotiable date in your diary every six months to evaluate, you might begin to see patterns. Whether this is seasonal, or linked to the type of projects you’re taking on, any noticeable recurring dips can be flagged!

Armed with this knowledge, you can plan ahead. That doesn’t mean the downtimes won’t come. But it does mean that you’ll have a plan in place to boost your business in quieter times, helping to alleviate stress in advance. I’ll leave you here with my top tips on performing a proactive?six-month review !

Find out more about causes for quieter times in business ?and what you can do about them or check out my five-step action plan to boost your business when you're in a quiet spell on my blog!