I live in a resort town, Saratoga Springs NY, where merchants are using the 6 P’s of marketing to get ready for the summer season when business doubles or triples.
PEOPLE
- Retain:
Owners have worked hard to retain their most productive staff. Hours and the best shifts are agreed to. Businesses can’t survive with too many newbies when the seasonal crowds rush in.
- Recruit:
For the last few weeks, owners have been recruiting more employees via networking, window signs, advertising, craigslist, social media, staff recommendations and especially reaching out to previous summer employees.
Many new employees are hired by “street walking.” They literally walk into businesses on our main streets until someone hires them. This actually worked in May for personable people with even a little relevant experience. Of course, most of the jobs are filled by now, so this tactic has become less productive.
- Retrain:
Whether or not they’re new to the type of job, employees must be retrained to both eliminate bad habits and learn how the owner wants them to perform.
PLACE
- Repair or Replace:
Owners can’t risk depending on shaky equipment that will be pushed much harder for many more hours.
- Refurbish:
Repaint, replace, and redecorate should have been completed by now, well before business increases.
- Relocate:
If a better or bigger space was needed, this also needs to have been completed.
PRODUCT
- Refresh:
Every restaurant in town seems to have a new menu. Clothing and gift stores are bringing out finer goods.
- Rebalance:
The more expensive offerings have been moved to the most visible part of the store. Even the real estate brokers feature their more expensive offerings.
- Rebuild:
Inventories have been doubled, if not more.
PRICE
- Reprice:
In the old days, June was the month when prices were increased significantly, driving away local customers. Today, repricing is more about adding more expensive offerings into the mix for the season. Think of:
- $30 steaks being added to restaurants where most main courses cost $17, and
- The dusty rack of $100 wine bottles being moved up near the cash register.
PROMOTION
- Retain:
The key to a great season is to keep the regulars, many of whom are turned off by the crowds and don’t come downtown as often. Here’s where loyalty programs and social media can really help.
- Reintroduce:
During the season, successful merchants reintroduce themselves to returning tourists using hotel and tourist materials and social media.
- Relaunch:
Many businesses relaunch themselves each year in early summer. Remember when the new car models came out in September? Similarly, in Saratoga Springs, new businesses open in May and June and existing businesses relaunch with special events and new product offerings by July 4th.
PROCESS
- Revise:
I define process as who does what with whom when to whom…admittedly hard to say. Another easier definition: Process is the planned course of action which a business is using to manage the doubling or even tripling of their business for 2-3 months. Owners and managers are scheduling resources to deliver the produce or service in a timely and satisfying manner to connect positively with the customer.
The 6 P’s of marketing is an excellent way to think about many business problems and opportunities.