If you’re like most event companies, during the busy season you’re going nonstop and often don’t have a moment to catch your breath.
And during the slow season, it can be the opposite. Maybe you do a ton of weddings and the winter months tick by without any bookings. Maybe you operate in the deep south, and the summer heat sends everyone into a reverse hibernation.
Cash flow tracks steadily downward, and you may start to wonder if your business has what it takes to survive seasonality.
You can turn things around, but it all comes down to how you maximize your slow season. That’s what we’ll talk about here.
Why You Should Stay Busy During Slow Season
Believe it or not, how you operate during the slow season can make or break your business. Are you using the downtime to improve your operations, keep up with trends, expand your business scope, and plant seeds for the busy season?
Or are you sitting on the couch refreshing your email, wondering why new bookings aren’t magically appearing in your inbox?
It’s all about mindset: If you see the slow season as a money pit, it’ll be just that. But if you view it as an opportunity, your business will emerge stronger.
Here are our favorite ways to maximize your slow season:
Network With Other Event Pros
Networking with other event pros is a goldmine during the slow season. Connect with fellow vendors over coffee or lunch, and who knows what sub-renting opportunities, referrals, or preferred venue partnerships might come out of it.
If you need some pointers on how to expand your network, check out our guide to event industry associations and trade shows. From the National Association for Catering & Events (NACE) to the Manufacturers and Tent Renters Association (MATRA), there’s something for everyone. Most associations host local chapter meetups and bigger trade shows where you have the chance to connect with like-minded event pros.
You can also take to Facebook groups (like ARA Event Rentals or Party Rental Knowledge Group) to find other event pros locally and nationwide.
Maintain Customer Relationships
Remember all those emails you didn’t have time to respond to during the busy season?
Maybe some leads went cold on you but you were too busy to follow up. Or maybe you don’t have a system in place to ask for referrals and repeat business. Now’s the perfect time to work on those relationships.
With Goodshuffle Pro, you can even keep email templates on standby to send a few days or weeks after an event has finished, so you’re always prospecting.
You might also consider sending out discount offers to all your past customers and prospects, to get use out of your inventory and get the cash flowing. You’d be surprised what a small nudge of encouragement could do to your booking numbers.
Reevaluate Your Business Strategy
With all the extra time on your hands, it’s your chance to check out your competitors’ pricing strategy, read up on industry trends, or conduct market research. This could help you identify gaps in the market where you can niche down (or build up offerings).
It’s also a good time to consider expanding the scope of your business. Maybe you started out with tables and chairs but discover tents are a must to get any summer business. Some free time could be just what you need to source new inventory items and storage space, plus log it all in a trusty inventory management tool like Goodshuffle Pro.
Clean Up Your Online Presence
The Internet is running 24/7, even during the offseason. The search engine optimization (SEO) gears are churning, and potential customers are always looking for businesses like yours online. But it takes time to build a stand-out online presence. Time you don’t have during the busy season.
So when things are slow, make sure your listings in all business directories are up to date and consistent. That includes platforms like:
- Google Business Profile
- WeddingPro
- Social media like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest
And if you don’t already have a profile on these platforms, there’s no time like the present. They’re the perfect place to show off past events, which helps provide social proof for your business — and can help you get new business if clients reshare to their profiles.
Get Your Website in Good Shape
Your website is your home base for all of your potential clients. It’s the place where they can submit inquiries, browse your collections, and decide they want you for their next event.
Unless, that is, you don’t have a website. Or you don’t have one that shows clients all you can do.
Touching up your website is the perfect slow season activity. With Goodshuffle Pro’s Website Integration, it’s easy to show off event images, create collections to spark client imagination, and get clients to build their perfect day.
Improving your website will boost your SEO performance. Plus, the exercise of going through your inventory is a great chance to think about how to repurpose your inventory for different kinds of events. Maybe wedding bookings are low in winter, for instance, so you decide to rent out your inventory for holiday parties instead.
Improve Your Workflow With Technology
When you have a trusty inventory management tool like Goodshuffle Pro, there’s so much you can do to improve your day-to-day workflow, like:
- Updating tags and attributes
- Building collections
- Creating attributes to track the last time you cleaned items
- Entering new inventory
- Logging where items are stored
Just imagine how much easier that’ll make your life when you’re flooded with inquiries. It’s all about making your software work for you, even in the slow season.
Make the Most of the Slow Season
With the tips we’ve covered here, you’re ready to improve your business even when you’re not in the middle of busy season.
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