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t's
heating up outside and summer anticipation is infect- |
ing business owners
business owners and school kids alike. As entrepreneurs prepare
for the summer, Business.com is noting spikes in interest for summer-oriented
business needs ranging from slush machines to koozies.
Business.com's newly released “Lemonade Stand Index” tracks
B2B topics associated with all the common entrepreneurial needs of
running a summer-centric, consumer-oriented business.
Promotional
koozies ranked 2,020 for the month of April. Just two months
earlier, it was ranked 33,511 — a jump by 1,728%.
Out of the 65,000 business topics available to search on Business.com’s
proprietary B2B taxonomy, items such as commercial ice machines and commercial
coolers have rocketed up the ranks of popularity. For instance, in April,
commercial ice machines rose to the rank of 114 and commercial coolers
to 186. Other hot contenders? What else, but bottled water — rising
in popularity to 68.
“This is a common phenomenon associated with seasonality,” states
Lane Soelberg, VP of Marketing and
Consumer Insights for Business.com. “B2B trends
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often break well
ahead of B2C demand. As businesses prepare for summer activity, they first make investments in products and
services within the B2B market-place.”
For companies to ride the seasonal wave successfully, it takes strategy
and planning. Just ask Bret Bonnet, co-founder of Quality Logo Products
(QLP) of Oswego, Ill. Bonnet founded (QLP) in 2003 with college friend
Michael Wenger and the two see a “huge surge” in business
during the summer months. Bonnet learned that in order to meet his
client’s summer needs, he had to adjust employee contracts.
“June to August is our busiest season. I don’t want
any employees taking vacation time — I need every warm body
in the office. In fact, it’s in the employee agreement to not
take vacation time in summer. I reward my employees with great vacation
time that they can take at any other time,” explains Bonnet.
Bonnet’s business clients often order corporate branded products
like promotional koozies and coolers for company picnics and summer
events, like the Indy 500.
Another
strategy for small businesses
affected by seasonal shifts is to carry |
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other
products with year-round appeal, according to Richard Graeter,
owner of Graeter’s
Ice Cream, a family-run business since 1870. |
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“In 1956, my family decided to also sell baked goods
and candy. The Cincinnati store has a bakery and candy shop that
does a big business during Halloween and Christmas — huge
sales for Valentine’s Day and Easter. By then, it’s
back to our main business of ice-cream. It’s a carefully
woven application of products to bring customers in year-round,” explains
Graeter, who runs the business with his two brothers.
Graeter’s advice for small business owners with a summer-oriented
business model? Try to offer a few other products that sell year-round,
but continue to focus your marketing on your main summer product — as
that will most-likely always be the bulk of your business. |
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