Working through the seasons

ShaquealThomas

Being in the painting industry at this time of the year can be tough for some especially on the east coast between cold weather and snow conditions the New England area cuts off exterior work basically until spring time. Which is crucial to businesses yearly that's what brought me to thumbtack from the start needed to find ways for my business to run year round and not slow down between the winter months as I call it.So I find myself always looking for strategic ideas to market budget and plan better ways until spring/summer time where it is a lot more balanced and busy. I want to drop some ideas tips or stories weekly to help or motivate industries that may go through the seasonal change feel free to join and drop some tips if you want to as well.

My first idea/tip for the winter months would be sending out a email to prior clients with a simple thank you for choosing you and maybe offer a small discount or gift card you may get a response for immediate work or you popped up on there radar for a project for later in the year.worse case no response but its worth a try I tried this method myself and it worked out for a family who wanted there doors painted before family came for the weekend and was not sure if I was working during the holidays me reaching out was actually a relief.

DustiO

I love this post, @ShaquealThomas! Tagging in our other Pro Advisors to see if they have any more seasonal tips to offer!

@Alex_Tsymbal @Almaz @amccarthy @Bretdouglas @busyb @Chuva @Cliff @junkminers11 @TechExpert @Trevorbelk @CodyRisner @AntilleanRestoration @adonayflooring @Jack_Marquardt @JWC @Juliano_50

Cliff

Hi everyone, I’ve been pretty quiet but make no mistake I’ve been keeping up! I’ve found that every holiday months customers love the discounts I offer. I base discounts on how long they have been a customer. I also offer referral bonuses during holiday season. Really gets clients moving!
Also quickly wanted to point out I’ve been getting a lot of requests to install permanent Christmas lights. “Govvy “ I believe. If you live in the Midwest or any snowy state and have to get up high I highly recommend not doing it alone!

JWC

Great advice, @ShaquealThomas, and I agree. Reaching out with small incentives can be an excellent way to inform your clients that you're still in business, remind them of end of the year projects, and increase brand awareness. Today's technology makes it even easier to tackle those administrative projects, with the help of marketing platforms that use AI to get those messages to your clients through email, direct mail, or by SMS.

Additionally, a simple "Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year" note sent separately a few weeks before or after the incentive rollout is one way to increase your interactions with previous clients that your are hoping to transition into returning clients.

busyb

Nice recommendations @ShaquealThomas and thanks for tagging me along with many others @DustiO . I have already announced a holiday promotion ahead of Black Friday. I actually did it the day after my birthday last week as my birthday gift to my clients and called it "Blacker Friday" just to play on my last name. I am giving 10% off labor fees for anyone that schedules a job by Dec. 31st and work is completed by Jan 31st. I think it will cover the people that need help prior to the holidays as well as anyone wanting to "gift" our services for the holidays and will have time to get discounted help into January after the holiday chaos and they may feel they need some help getting everything back under control in their home.

I also feel very strongly about offering a holiday giveaway. I will be running a contest to award 3 deserving members of my community help with decluttering. It builds so much credibility for your business and it will benefit you in so many ways not just through the winter months but all year.

Maybe Thumbtack could help those of us offering holiday giveaways by promoting them to customers who could then apply for them? Might be too late for this year but maybe next year??? Or maybe create a campaign around the idea for spring cleaning???