Ah, summertime. During the hottest months of the year, many businesses lose momentum. Employees go on vacation, managers start thinking about fall staffing needs, and the sales cycle oftent slows to a crawl.
For B2C companies that market toward individual consumers, the summer season can be a fun time to try new marketing campaigns centered around the sun and fun to create new sales.
But, for B2B companies that market to other businesses, you might be hesitant to dive headfirst into summer marketing because the messaging might come across as “off-brand.” This is a valid concern, but there are things you can do during the summer to enhance your message and prepare for success during the fall. Let’s take a closer look!
5 B2B Summer Marketing Tips for Your Company
When thinking about summer marketing for a B2B business, we certainly don’t recommend changing your marketing strategy just because things are slower in the summer and you’re trying to accelerate the sales cycle. That could create long-term damage if customers see a sudden shift in how you present information to them.
Instead, think about ways you can use the summer season to build momentum heading into the fall season when B2B customers are more likely to be ready to buy.
1. Preview a Fall Event
Is your company planning to attend a big trade show or industry conference during the fall season? Summertime is a great time to start getting your prospects and customers excited to meet with your team in person.
- Publish a blog on your website announcing that you will be attending the conference.
- Include a preview of the planned conference attendance in your monthly newsletter.
- Encourage prospects and customers to mark time on their calendars to meet with your team at the conference.
As part of the communication with your target audience, make sure to stress the main message that you plan to promote at the conference. Plant those seeds early so that your targets are ready to discuss at the fall event!
2. Announce a New Product or Service
Perhaps your company has been working all year on developing a new product or service to offer your customers. On the surface, the summer season might not seem like the best time to announce this new offering. But, for B2B companies, it actually is a great time!
As you know, the B2B sales cycle can take quite some time. While customers might not be ready to buy right now because they need to involve multiple new stakeholders from their company in the decision-making process, you can at least build intrigue with a soft launch.
Then, once the information circulates amongst key members of your target audience and you host a few discussions throughout the summer months, there will be purchasing momentum when the fall season rolls around.
3. Talk About Your Growth
Did your company experience growth during the first half of the year? Celebrate it! B2B prospects want to know that your company will be around for the long haul and that you are growing as a company. Considering releasing content that celebrates your progress:
- Talk about how many employees you’ve added or focus on the 1-2 key positions you’ve filled (e.g., the new director of sales).
- Announce that you’re entering a new market.
- Discuss new projects that your company is undertaking or has completed.
Whether it’s a full-blown blog, a blurb in your email newsletter, or a brief social media post, it’s increasingly important to showcase your company’s growth to build confidence with your target audience.
4. Record a Video Message
Video can go a long way toward strengthening your relationships with target prospects. Potential buyers want to know who the people are behind your company so that they feel comfortable doing business with you. During the summer, consider releasing interviews, testimonials, or other soundbites that showcase thought leadership:
- Publish a sit-down message from your CEO or another high-ranking company executive.
- Record an interview with a manager covering a hot topic in the industry.
- Release a testimonial from a current customer talking about their experience with your company.
- Showcase your team at the shop, in the field, or wherever your employees work.
Publishing professional videos will help you stay active in the market and send an important message that you’re not disappearing for the summer. Plus, it will help create familiarity with your audience before your team attends that big fall conference or trade show.
5. Release a New Piece of Content
Every B2B company should regularly blog, send out emails, and post on social media during the summer. That shouldn’t slow down. However, you can also use this time to release a fresh piece of content about something important in the industry.
- Publish a new whitepaper on your website about how your product or service addresses a common challenge in the industry.
- Release a new article in an industry trade magazine covering a hot topic that your customers will come across.
- Have a key employee appear on an industry podcast and then promote this podcast appearance to your audience.
The new content should help you facilitate more conversations with prospects and customers to keep building the relationship. You can also enhance your company’s credibility in the market through third-party content that is shared across your platforms. Stay active in the market!
Find Help With Summer Marketing
While summer can feel disruptive, your company can still take action to maintain momentum in your sales cycle. We can help by advancing your content capabilities!
Our content marketing team is ready to support your content strategy – or help establish a content strategy targeting your customers. We’ll follow through by producing great content that will compel your audience to take action.
Let’s get to work implementing these summer marketing ideas to help you grow revenue.Contact us today to discuss how to implement our B2B summer marketing tips for your company!
