Many businesses will have a quiet period at one time or another. In fact, I’d go so far as to say EVERY business will have one. And if you haven’t had one yet, it’ll come! But don’t panic; we can sort it. You’ve just got to understand what’s causing the lull and put a focused strategy in place to sort it. Read on to find out more.
When you’re in the middle of it, the last thing you want to do is take a step back. You probably want to throw everything you’ve got at it to bring the sales back in. But you need to look at the bigger picture. You need to take the time to understand what might be the problem. You need to look at ALL the parts of your business. This will help you identify exactly what is causing the problem before you try to fix the issue(s).
Some common examples of things that can cause a quiet period are below:
Could it be seasonality? Are you offering a product or service that only works during certain seasons? For example, if you’re only selling Christmas cards, you can expect your peak to be from September to December. Outside of those times, sales will slow right down.
Dips sometimes follow a big event. After all the build-up and excitement of an event, sales can plummet immediately afterwards. Christmas is a perfect example. People spend so much money and then afterwards they just need a break. A reset to build the funds back up. And also all the energy!
Similarly, before a big event can make potential customers stop spending. For example, August can be quiet before school starts again. People are concentrating on that and not looking at spending money (unless it’s on uniforms!).
Are your products just not hitting the right target audience? Have you checked the market trends? Have you got your creative juices flowing and regularly bring out new products? There are lots of things you’ll need to think about to understand exactly why it’s quiet.
The most obvious sign that you’ll find is less sales. You’re not making as much money as you were. This doesn’t mean your business is over! But it may be time for you to start looking at things more closely to see what’s going on.
You might find you’ve got more free time on your hands. You’re not having to make as many products as you were. You don’t have to make as many post runs as before. You’re finding yourself twiddling your thumbs a little bit more than you were.
You might notice less interaction on social media. Fewer comments on your posts. Fewer likes on your videos. Fewer people sharing what you’ve created.
If you’re an online business you might notice reduced website traffic. Fewer people coming over to your website, whether for a sale or a blog post. Or a higher rate of people leaving your website quickly.
Whatever your business is, you’ll begin to notice the unique traits specific to yours that will indicate impending doom.
Running a business is incredibly hard, and when you’re hit with a potential business letup, it can cause lots of issues. The biggest problem is obviously the lack of profit. If you’re not getting the sales in, then you’re not making any money. And money is essential to the survival of your business. Without money, you can’t pay your suppliers. You can’t pay your staff. You can’t purchase the items you need to make your products. This can then lead to your business closing down.
In the middle of all that, you’ll most likely be panicking. And unfortunately, panicking people make silly mistakes. They make decisions based on panic and not what is a strategic business decision. They don’t properly think about what the business needs. Instead, they just try to make a decision as quickly as possible. More often than not, they make the wrong decision. Which can end up costing them time and money down the line.
And, of course, all this amounts to high levels of stress. Which can lead to illness, time off work, more money lost, etc. Basically, it’s just not a fun place to be!
Once you’ve figured out the cause of your lull, you need to look at ways you can increase sales to improve your business success. The following are just a few ideas your business may want to consider to get you started. Just remember not to rush into anything. Give yourself time to address the issues first and then explore your options. Then, give yourself time to implement any fixes you might need to do.
There are lots of different ways you can communicate with your customers. Firstly, you need to find out what types of content they prefer. Whether that’s social media, emails, leaflets, etc. Find out what they love and then do more of it. You can do this by looking at the numbers. See where you have the most interactions and where most sales come from. But consistency is key here. There’s no point doing 3 solid weeks of LinkedIn or Facebook marketing to never touch it again. It takes time to build good solid leads through marketing. So get your business out there and make an impactful effort.
If you’re having to navigate slow sales following a big event, have you considered a discount? A perfect example here is the boxing day sales following Christmas. It’s almost become an industry trend to have a sale after Christmas! Your customers will be ready and waiting to spend some money.
If you’re struggling because you only make seasonal products, create products that people need all year round. It’d be silly to think that you might not have considered this already! But it still bares saying. And if you can’t do that, then find the place where people will buy your items all year round. Highlight how your products could be used out of season. I imagine fake snow could sell quite well during the summer if you advertised it to people sick of the sun. Get into your customers’ mind, know what makes them tick and appeal to it.
Do you have an email marketing list? Try writing a newsletter if you haven’t already. If you already do this, maybe it’s time to revisit your strategy. See which emails have the greatest response. See which were the less impressive ones. Then send them a quick email so that you stay top of mind.
You could consider having someone take over your marketing for you. Outsource to an expert who can use the right tools to make your business successful.
Whatever you choose to do, pick the best course of action for your individual business. What works for you might not work for someone else.
This might be the perfect time to get some feedback from your customers about your products. Create a survey and send it to existing customers, preferably ones that give you repeat business. Make sure it’s simple for them to fill in and won’t take much time. You could also consider offering them a bonus for completing it, like a discount. Then use this feedback to make any changes necessary. Once that’s done, advertise the heck out of it. People love to hear how you’ve used their opinions to make changes.
You could also use the time to take a look at the performance of your more profitable items. Could you improve them further using your customer feedback? If you compare the profitable products against those less impactful ones, is there anything you can fix? Have your customers mentioned any changes they want to see there? Even small changes can make a big difference to increasing your sales.
When things look dire, many people forget why they went into business in the first place. Take a look at your “why” and remember that this is just a phase. Remind yourself that all businesses go through similar periods, rather than comparing yourself to their highs. And try to use this time to your advantage.
Now could be a great time to take another look at your business plan. Does it still align with what you want to achieve? Are your products and services the right fit to reach your goals? Is your typical sales cycle the best it can be? What can you do differently in your sales process to get more clients? All these things need to be looked at.
Now that you’ve better understood your slow periods, you can schedule activities during those times. Have you got a big task to complete that you’ve struggled to find the time for? Do you typically have quiet time after a big event? That’s your window to complete that big task. It doesn’t always have to be about getting more sales immediately. It can be about finally having the time to complete things you’ve been putting off.
For example, part of your plan might be to increase your passive income. But you haven’t had the time to research and implement anything yet. Use your downtime to your advantage and get started on putting things in motion. It should lead to more sales in the long run.
Take a look at your website and make improvements. Imagine you’re the customer and go through the process of trying to buy something. Are there any barriers in the way? Is something a bit complicated? Can you make anything easier? Can you add in some upselling? (That’s when you show them an offer on another product after they’ve purchased something.) Is the website visually appealing? Does it still match your branding?
Are you utilising your social media channels to your advantage? Would you benefit from some training? Come up with new ways to get your audience excited about your products. If you’ve only stuck to the same things, it might be time to try something new. For example, if you’ve not used videos yet, try it. Create content to enhance their interactions with your business.
Are you using a customer relationship management tool? This is a system that manages all your business’s interactions with current and potential customers. If you use one, you can look at the data in your CRM to see things such as where you get the most sales. Where the best leads are coming from. What your most effective advertising campaign was. And so much more. It really helps to direct your efforts to the best place. If you don’t have one, consider putting one in place. Even a simple spreadsheet that monitors the numbers would be better than nothing!
If you’ve not created a cash flow forecast before, it can be a game changer. Typically, they are created over a 3-6 month period. They can be longer, but they aren’t as accurate the further out you go. They massively help to anticipate when you might need extra money and if you’ve got the funds to cover it. Not sure how to make one? Check out my course here.
When business is slow, you can feel very alone. It can feel like you’re the only one it happens to. But honestly, it isn’t just you! So reach out and connect with other businesses. You can help each other out. Collaborate to boost each other’s businesses. You’ll never know where a simple comment on someone’s post could lead. Or a personalised DM. It could lead to a great friendship. It could lead to you working together on new products. Both of your businesses could soar from it. If nothing else, you won’t feel alone anymore.
It can be very tempting to throw money at the problem to try and fix it. But that doesn’t always help. The key thing here is not to panic. Don’t start making silly decisions because you’re worrying. Take the time to figure out what the issue is. Make a realistic plan to resolve it and put it in motion. And on that front, don’t overwork. You’ll end up with burnout, and you’ll be in a worse position than before you started. Just remember that these things happen to every business and you will get through it.
Ell Evan Bookkeeping are not Tax Advisors and so our advice and suggestions on the application of tax rules cannot be construed as tax advice.
