No Marketing During Summer!
By Adam Radzik
Consultant to Professional Firms

I am reminded of the words of Mark Twain: “It’s not that people don’t know anything; actually, they know a lot. The problem is that most of it is wrong!” The notion that summer is a dead time for marketing – “everyone is on vacation!” – is completely wrong. The summer is prime time for marketing activity. Every trade association is working on its speaking schedule for the fall and spring – that is to say, determining who will be its speakers from September 2007 to June 2008. Many of these business organizations are required by their national headquarters to submit their programming schedules during the summer – right now!

The same is true for many publications. Editors are planning their publication schedules, choosing their themes, and selecting their writers, even as you read this text. So, if you haven’t yet submitted ideas for possible publication in important journals, or for speaking opportunities that would promote your business to your target market, finish reading this newsletter and get to work.

What to speak and write about? First of all, you need to determine what effort (service or product) brings your company its greatest profit, and what it is that you most wish to sell. What has the world purchased most from you in the past? When clients or customers call you for advice, what are they asking about? Stay away from the unusual and the odd, which will bring you remarks like “I couldn’t believe that” but will not bring you any new business. And new business is where it’s at. New business is a requirement for every business.

Nearly every business loses 10% to 20% of its existing customer base each year. Where do these customers go? They decide they no longer need your service. They decide to do it in-house. They go to the competition because the son is now in charge and he thinks he knows better. They go out of business. For whatever reason, every business must bring in at least 10% new business just to stay even with the previous year. Plus, inflation, the rising consumer price index, and the dramatic rise of energy and health costs rob businesses of the value of the income they do bring in. That adds at least another 5% that must be replaced each year – totaling 15% of your business that must be replaced just to avoid falling behind.

Fall is a time of rejuvenation of the economic cycle. Some consider it the actual beginning of the annual economic cycle. Is your company getting ready?

Let’s get real about summer. The statement “everyone is on vacation” is simply not true. In the United States, 300 million people do not all go on vacation simultaneously. Yes, some are on vacation, but certainly there are people who can be communicated with.

Summer should be used to evaluate client and customer satisfaction, develop new programs, train new recruits, update websites, refine sales scripts, revise programs that are limping along, and plan for a strong fall. We simply cannot wait to find ourselves in the middle of September saying, “Yeah, Adam. You’re right, that’s really not working the way it should. We’ll have to call a meeting for sometime in October.” (By the way, that meeting ends up being held at the end of November due to individual conflicts.)

Delaying effective remediation and company strengthening because no one is around during the summer is simply an unwise idea for those who understand that we are living in dramatic economic times.

Comedy Corner

The Italian Tomato Garden

An old Italian man lived alone in the country. He wanted to plant his tomato garden, but digging was very hard work as the ground was hard. His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son describing his predicament:

Dear Vincent,

I am feeling pretty badly because it looks like I won’t be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I’m just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here, my troubles would be over. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me.

Love, Dad

A few days later, the man received a letter from his son:

Dear Dad,

Don’t dig up that garden. That’s where I buried the bodies.

Love, Vinnie

At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his son:

Dear Dad,

Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That’s the best I could do under the circumstances.

Love you, Vinnie