August is the perfect time to start improving your digital strategy

We serve clients across the globe. That’s not unusual for a digital services provider. However, the largest concentration of our clients are close to home, here in Manitoba.

In a recent in-house discussion about the nature of Manitoba’s business cycles, we agreed we see a Prairie phenomenon of business cycles that can be viewed in thirds, or trimesters. This is often a function of Manitoba’s climate, with its preciously short spring and summer. This presents a different proposition from business planning and accounting purposes based on fiscal quarters. 

Most Manitoba organizations have a marked “busy season”, bracketed with a “ramp up” and “ramp down” period, as well as a few months of “down time” every year. Our conversation broke the calendar down as:

January – April:

While winter touches as many as eight months of the year (October to May), the first third of the calendar year is dominated by products and services related to winter. Snow clearing, transportation, travel, indoor pursuits and athletic facilities and many other industries see bumps in business activity, and other organizations coming out of the holiday season press hard to resume business.

May – August:

Manitoba’s “high summer season” runs from Victoria Day weekend to mid-August. Tourism, recreation and the agricultural sector dominate the period from snow melt to harvest. The last half of August is filled with “back to school” preparations. During this time, most organizations find themselves running at half-speed, as clients and staff are away from their posts for holidays.

September – December: 

Offices and many businesses move back to high gear, after summer staffing interruptions and business disruptions. Retail aims all its energy into preparation for the highly concentrated “sales season”. Not-for-profits have their volunteers back in place, allowing fundraising and awareness campaigns to be launched.

Of course, there are some notable standouts – retail is busiest in December while construction is busy in July, for example. Every business has their own particular version of the “hot and cold months” of the year, but the majority of Manitoba businesses plan for their best effectiveness in the eight non-summer months of the year.

Which makes August an incredible opportunity. If you’re gearing up for the next 8 months, it’s time to revisit your digital strategy.

Is your website effective in driving engagement and sales? 

Does it properly reflect your offering? Do you “lead” with your key products and services? Do you have your new products on-site, with enough information and specifications to make viewers ready for the sale? Are there easy and obvious “next steps” for prospective customers to buy or to contact you? Or, to be honest, is the site getting dated looking, while your competitors have slick, attractive sites? It might be time to sketch out the next version of your online presence.

Consider your website’s functionality

Could your site use a catalogue of detailed product listings? Is it time to consider selling products online, or using your site to set service appointments, or even allowing customers to pay their invoices online? There’s funding available to small and medium sized companies to help defray the costs of adding most kinds of ecommerce to your site. Now might be the time to rethink ecommerce for your site.

Are you getting found? 

When you “do the google” for the services and products you sell, where are you showing up in either organic or paid search? If you’re unhappy with the results, there are concrete actions you can take now. Optimizing your site and upgrading your site content with a focus on your product and service keywords can help move you higher in organic search.

Invest in digital advertising

Perhaps it’s time to investigate all manner of digital advertising, as an alternative to traditional tactics. Everything from buying display advertising on other sites or within phone apps to podcast insertions. Google ads are one popular way to get found, but you need to have the right combination of keywords and ready-to-go target pages for your campaigns.

Are you creating meaningful content for your target audience? 

If you’re not telling your story effectively and often, on multiple platforms, then you’re missing out. Social media, videos, audio, newsletters and onsite content allows you multiple ways of telling your story across the digital word. As always, the objective is to drive people to your engagement funnel.

Now, we agree that’s a lot to consider all at once. However, August gives you the opportunity to consider upgrading all aspects of your digital footprint in the months ahead. Some tactics can yield immediate results. Others can take time and persistence, yet result in big yields down the road.

Don’t be intimidated. We can help.

We can help you assess the current state of your digital business footprint, and help you create a plan for the months ahead, with web development, search engine optimization and marketing, as well as content planning and creation.

Make the first move by making time for a brief starter-consultation this month — Contact Paul Schmitt at 204-985-2460, ext 50 or .

In some people’s minds, it’s still summer… 

If you are still in “summer mode”, revisit our five questions on whether it’s time for a summer refresh for your site. It’s a little more focused than this month’s topic, and it provides some focus on the immediate steps you can take to improve your site.