The summer months are typically associated with scarcer enquiries, reduced lead volume, a drop in opportunities and fewer sales. Traditional thinking suggests that getting decisions and closing sales during the summer is fraught with difficulty and, consequently, less attention is given to marketing campaigns and lead generation efforts during this time. As a company at the sharp end of lead generation, we find that this traditional thinking isn’t in line with the reality of corporate strategies. In fact, taking your foot off the gas in the summer can have a profoundly negative effect on reaching your sales goals.
This summer is a little different as our economy starts to recover from Covid-19 and begins its route back to normality. Furlough is coming to an end, businesses are beginning to ramp up their operations and there are many opportunities to generate qualified leads, win business and build pipeline. Lockdown is relaxing but don’t relax your sales focus.
It’s time to build a summer marketing strategy that ignores any threatened sales slump by focusing on your lead generation activity instead. Sounds a little risky? Ok, bear with us. We will explain why this is exactly the approach you should be taking. And we’ll even back it up with some stats.
As mentioned at the start of this blog, traditionally, the summer holidays have been considered a marketing dead zone. People with school aged children take time off and it is widely believed that firms take their feet off the pedal. Summer is perceived as a time for sales and marketing teams to regroup, reflect and strategise. A suggested consequence of this regrouping and reflecting is that companies are reluctant to spend time on or invest money in marketing campaigns.
Here’s the problem, if you stop marketing your salespeople will have nothing to follow up over the autumn months. Investing in summer marketing campaigns can help build opportunities that will see you through the autumn and into the following year. Use data intelligence to contact the right key decision makers over the summer months and you’ll uncover otherwise hidden sales opportunities. CPB delivers successful summer marketing campaigns year after year, taking a nurturing approach. We schedule follow ups for when your sales personnel are back in the office from a summer break or, indeed, are unfurloughed. We’ll keep your leads warm, nurturing them until you are ready to proceed.
Here’s the real backstory to the summer and why it’s a good idea to invest in summer marketing campaigns…
There is no mass exodus - IT departments don’t allow all staff to take annual leave en masse. Key personnel stay in the office, keeping the home fires burning.
Summer is the perfect time to plan, prepare and scope - Many companies use the quieter summer months to plan projects and scope solutions, making this an ideal time to approach decision makers with new products and services
The lights are on and there is somebody home - With gatekeepers on holiday, summer provides a rare opportunity to make contact and build direct relationships with key personnel which sees sales cycles significantly shorten.
Focus and target - CPB has the ability to flag companies who have a summer shutdown e.g. manufacturing and engineering companies and the education sector. These company types are removed from campaign data, making targeting more effective and call rates more successful.
Why are we so sure of our approach? Let the numbers do the talking.
In 2019, CPB generated 549 leads from summer campaigns. These summertime leads produced a total pipeline stream of £1.18 million. In 2020, we saw even more success with our summertime campaigns, and the statistics are compelling…
64 campaigns delivered
5000+ decision makers spoken to
554 leads generated
£2.3 million in won business
An additional £1.7 million total pipeline
The figures speak for themselves – focus on summer marketing campaigns and some of these spoils could be yours!
How Did CPB support our clients in achieving this ROI?
Through the use of multi-touch marketing
Using an omni-channel approach to reach end-users
Monitoring digital communication interactions and using granular analytics to find the most fruitful send times & content
Following up on topics that the end-user is actively interacting with
Never leaving stones unturned; we get through to contacts by leaving voicemails, sending introductory emails, and connecting on LinkedIn
Top tips to beat the B2B summer sales slump
Choose focused, targeted, and personalised multi-touch marketing lead generation activities
Use top quality, intelligent data to understand your target audience and offer solutions that make the difference
Contact people, when, where and how they prefer, with targeted and relevant offers, promotions, and products
Summer is an opportunity not a threat.
Summer is the perfect time to look for the business that will help you achieve your end of year targets. Undertaking summer marketing activity could bring in sales that help you hit your annual target. Running marketing campaigns throughout the summer will also help to generate leads for the beginning of next year, resulting in you starting the new year on a high with a juicy pipeline.
Use these summer months to embrace change and find creative solutions to add value with an increased emphasis on the digital world:
Pivot your marketing and event strategy to focus on digital opportunities
Use digital experiences to keep your customer and prospect relationships on track
Adapt your content to stand out in the crowded marketplace
Fill any lead generation and brand building gap with multi-touch marketing campaigns
Shift channel strategies, plans, budget and resources
Why has CPB had such great success with summer marketing activity? It all comes down to opportunity and data. Our multi-touch, nurturing campaign strategy provides the opportunity and our sister company ProspectaBase provides us with access to the very best IT contact data in the UK. With over 200,000+ IT end-user email addresses and 55,000+ direct dials and mobile numbers, we are able to bypass gatekeepers and access key decision makers even when they are working from home.
Summer marketing campaigns maintain lead generation momentum, and with an average conversion timescale of 5.5 months, you develop a steady supply of leads for your sales team, which maintains moral, energy and enthusiasm. It’s a win-win.
It’s time to start seeing the summer season as an opportunity rather than a threat.
