How To Beat The Winter Blues And Keep Your Business Going

Dear Reader,

Heidi Freezing in Madison Sq. Part Hi from very chilly NYC where the temperatures are in the teens and windy.

As I sit here in my drafty Flatiron apartment, I wonder what to write to inspire you to act. And I apologize since that delayed this week’s newsletter.

Yet, at least, in the short-term the outlook is as bleak as the winter weather.

Why?
Because what most of us crave most is to live in a post-Covid normal.

We want to go out in public without a fear of getting seriously sick for work and recreation and engage in the activities we did in the past. This includes visiting family and friends as well as other activities.

Yet for many that’s not possible. It may be that Covid is on the rise.

As a carless New Yorker, I worry about getting seriously sick with a non-Covid related illness and not being able to get health care due to overcrowded hospitals and stretched medical staff.

Like many other essential workers, they’re stretched without vacations. Many have experienced at least one case of Covid and risked their health because they need to work.

While we’re vaccinated, boosted and Covid-free, we’re psychologically tired of Covid and have experienced additional stress-related health issues. We have friends who have lost family and/or still experience the impact of long Covid.

Why do I share this with you in a newsletter about marketing?
To let you know that regardless of what challenges you face, you’re not alone.
So what can you do?

Figure out what your family and you need to survive the next 3 to 12 months in terms of health, shelter and finances. Without freeing your mind from these concerns, nothing else matters.

According to health officials various areas across the US and other parts of the world face spikes in Covid cases. While omicron isn’t as dangerous as other variants for the vaccinated and boosted, it is severe and life-threatening if you’re not. This is a medical fact not a partisan one.

In the US and elsewhere, partisan ideas about vaccines and boosters hinder public health. It’s not rational. Most people don’t question polio and measles vaccines, Yet many they feel that Covid vaccines are a partisan issue.

In my opinion, the biggest marketing challenges involve public opinion and the erosion of trust.

So, many people’s point of view is shaped by partisan information they choose to consume. Even worse, many news providers use AI-powered algorithms to deliver more of the same. This allows otherwise small extreme points of view to get amplified and populations without a voice to get marginalized.

Further, the lack of civil discourse and basic information reduces the ability to get things done that would help the majority.

Actionable Marketing Lesson of The Week

► Beat The Winter Blues

So what do you do?
Figure out how to beat the winter blues.

Here are some suggestions:

Examine your actual revenues and costs for 2021 and 2020. Understand what your customers want and need and are willing to buy. How long do your sales cycles last. Reassess your 2022 budgets and have lower targets where possible. Look at your 2019 data, if you have it, to show realistic sales and costs.
In NYC, many of our favorite local businesses like Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop on Fifth Avenue off 23rd Street haven’t weathered the last 2 years due to high fixed costs including rent, difficulty hiring and keeping employees, and lack of foot traffic.
Determine promotions to break through during this traditionally slow time of year to spur sales. Where possible assess how you can lock in buyers for longer with larger sales or discounts on future sales.
Create activities that engage your audience. For example, Loyalty Bookstores has a month full of January author readings, book clubs and other events.
Make plans for post-Covid when people want to get back together. For example, Project Voice is planning a more limited in-person event with more socializing in the form of sight seeing around Chattanooga.
Build marketing engagement around high ticket sales. For example, the Mini car did this when they introduced their car in the US because each car was made to order.
Talk to your existing customers to see what they need and how their needs have changed. Examine your existing customer list to see what your return customers purchase and what they say they need from you. For example, Porto Rico Import Co. kept it’s coffee and tea business going due to loyal customers.
Focus on getting customers who have made a purchase to use your product in under 90 days. Otherwise you’ve lost them and risk that they’ll say negative things about your business.
Reach out to your existing employees to make them feel more satisfied with their work and personal goals. Otherwise you risk losing them.

Given the uncertainty with Covid, financial and political state, these suggestions still have a level of risk. I’d be lying if I said they didn’t.

What I’m sure of is that doing nothing will hurt your business.

You need to keep going and have the hope that the world will ultimately muddle through these challenges.