Just as a farmer has to deal with the different seasons, so do businesses has it also operates around a certain economic business cycle. This cycle plays a big role in how decisions are made in regards to marketing and resources.  Many business owners during their peak season will plan and allocate more marketing and resources during this boom, but during the slow season they struggle to handle the economic fall, because did not plan for it! This lack of planning during this slow period leads to loss in profits, cashflow and layoffs of good staff.

Understanding your cycle of business is really important if you want to see your business grow.  There are great opportunities to be grabbed during the slow season, it is just about understanding the drivers that generate revenues and profits.

I have outlined three strategies that you can employ to begin improving your business performance all year long.

1)    Predict your Growth, Profits and Cash- Take look at what cycle you’re in and predict when you have the best buying power to get better pricing. In addition, up your line of credit with the banks when sales and profits are up, so that you can continue growing your business

2)    Reinvent your Marketing-Analyze your marketing and see what new products you can add and messages you can formulate to attract new customers to offset the slow season.  For example, you can offer a 10% discount to those customers that sign up for a service before the peak season and increase your prices 20% during peak times

3)    Focus on Leads- Take a look at your sales process and start focusing on generating more leads. By focusing on leads it will help you build a bigger database to work with during your peak season.

These are just a few strategies that you can apply to your business, I would highly recommend that you start planning now, so that you can be better prepared for the dread slow season.

Just like the seasons, businesses have its ups and downs, but you can learn how to profit from it, if you just follow the business trends and make sure you educate yourself on it.