Are Your Marketing Efforts Timely?

The last of the area K-12 school districts started this week. Does that seem early to you? After all these years I can’t get used to it, either. It’s been a couple years since my youngest attended here, but with so many of my friends and neighbors with school age children, it’s never far from my mind. And who can resist the pull of school supplies on sale? I still stock up on notebook paper and pens for my office. They are never cheaper than right now.

On Sunday I was browsing through the store flyers and noticed that one of the big office supply stores had their brown grocery bag in the newspaper that day.  You know the one I’m talking about that gives you 20% off everything that fits in the bag? Anyway, I have used the bag in the past when it came in, but I don’t recall it coming the first week of school before. The first thing I said to Lewis was, “Isn’t that smart marketing? They will certainly draw in a lot of folks to their store this week to capture the middle and high school kids’ supply lists.” From past experience I know that you can stuff a lot of paper, pens, notebooks, folders, rulers, protractors, paints and index cards in that bag!

That brings me to my marketing tip. Your efforts need to be timely and appropriate. Know your audience and the problems they have and be there at the right time to offer your solution. This may require a little research into the industry. Are there specific times of the year that are busier for them? Are there events that they go to that would enable you to reach many people at once? A good understanding of their issues can save you from inappropriately spending your marketing dollars and time.

Now, I’ve got to find that bag and go buy some index cards, printer paper, and ink. What would you buy?