Just as we began to see life return to being somewhat normal in the UK, recent coronavirus restrictions have emerged again. As a result of this, businesses have been affected financially. With this said, it’s important that we all stay positive through these difficult times. Business owners must make the most of the events and trends that lie ahead.
Over the course of 2020, we have seen many businesses make some successful short-term strategies that have helped them prosper through the pandemic. For example, Amazon owner Jeff Bezos exceeded the £200 billion net worth mark. If you too are a business owner looking for some quirky ways to capitalise on the events that lie ahead, we discuss the top three ways to accomplish this in 2020.
1. Make a note of the national events approaching
With the final part of the year commencing, we see two major events that the UK adores celebrating coming up – Halloween and Christmas. Not only are these times for family and friends to come together and celebrate however they please, but it also provides businesses with the opportunity to make some seasonal profits in the process.
Capitalize with Halloween horrors
Commencing on the 31st October, businesses can capitalise on Halloween in one way or another. From castles hosting spooky ghost hunting tours to bakeries making some rather frightening cake concoctions, there really is an answer for every business when it comes to using Halloween to capitalise from.
Take the likes of coffee shops and bakeries for example. Spice up your menu with a Halloween twist and turn a plain-old cupcake into a Halloween inspired ‘meal deal’. Experimenting with different ingredients and colourings, serving coffee in a cauldron-themed cup, and offering a discount code to use for next time is an effective way to not only embrace the Halloween tradition but retain customers too.
As for the likes of clothing stores, make sure to leave a clothing rack or two free for some Halloween costumes. But rather than sticking with the same-old witch costumes and werewolf masks, do some research into what is trending online and on social media to see who exactly consumers are wanting to dress up as this year.
Even convenience stores could profit from Halloween. Take slush machines for example. Take advantage of the profitable benefits that are presented to you and make a whole snack out of it. By purchasing orange and green flavoured slushes, investing in some Halloween-themed cups, and making a goodie bag full of spider and pumpkin-shaped jellies, you can make the ultimate snack deal that can capitalise your slushie sales this Halloween.
How to drive Christmas capital
As the build-up to Christmas sets everyone in high spirits, now is the time to start thinking of some quirky ideas to capitalise from this winter.
The likes of the restaurant industry are at an advantage when it comes to finding ways to add a Christmas twist to their everyday operations. Rather than overdoing the place with lights and tinsel, focus on adding a merry twist to your meals and feature the traditional cinnamon snacks, and chipolatas on the menu. The same concept applies for buffets too. Whether you own a Chinese style buffet, or an Italian pizza and pasta, stand out from the crowd and show your customers what a traditional Christmas looks like in places all over the world.
Since Christmas is a time for giving something back to the people we love, why not give back to the planet this year too? Regardless of the type of products you sell, encourage a trading style service that helps your business capitalise from the Christmas festivities and do your bit for the environment too. There are many ways you can do this. For example, if your shop offers a loyalty scheme, for every empty bottle of water or clothing item a customer brings (depending on the nature of your business), they are awarded a certain number of points in exchange. Simple!
2. The rise of staycations
Since COVID-19 shook up our lives, many businesses have suffered financially. It’s important that businesses in the hospitality industry look for ways to continue making money throughout this difficult time. Since many of our holidays abroad this year have been cancelled, we have seen staycations and weekend breaks emerge in recent months. So much so, the term ‘weekend breaks’ experienced an increase from 8,100 Google searches in April 2020 to 60,500 searches by August 2020.
As for searches for ‘staycations UK’, these have also experienced a dramatic increase in recent months. In May 2020 this term was searched just 4,400 times. By August 2020, this had increased to 33,100 searches.
For regions currently under local lockdown regulations, profits may be lost for the likes of hotels and accommodation venues. However, encouraging family weekends away could see you continue to make profits as well as following all restrictions put in place. For example, offer a ‘family weekend package deal’ that includes not only the accommodation, but also a 50 per cent discount to use at the local restaurant, or cinema, or even golf courses.
As for the likes of bowling allies and other entertainment venues, you could also go above and beyond to help make their staycation break an extra special one. The new 10pm curfew for bars and restaurants could play to your advantage too. For example, invest in some clever marketing that promotes deals such as “‘all you can play’ bowling between 8pm–10pm” for a set price. The same concept applies to the likes of mini-golf and table sports venues too!
3. Social media trends
Other than the festive trends that are approaching, make note of the social media trends and changes that are popular too. Fast-food chains such as KFC and Burger King have been found to set an example of this in the past. After the KFC crisis back in 2018 whereby the chain ran out of chicken due to issues with its suppliers, Burger King took this as an opportunity to create some humorous marketing campaigns. One Twitter post read: ‘Here’s a special offer on chicken, since we didn’t bucket up this week’ and: ‘We don’t chicken out’, showing how to capitalise from competitor losses the funny way.
However, in more recent social media news, KFC has made light of the fact not all their stores were opened immediately after non-essential shops made a return, and made a light-hearted joke at the situation. To help ensure capital and profits didn’t suffer as a result of the part-time closure of some of their stores, their posts read: ‘Some chickens have now crossed the road. The rest are waiting at the pelican crossing…but now you can check where your nearest open restaurant is”.
Other than some clever tongue-in-cheek marketing lines to use, social media is the ideal place to learn new ways to capitalise your business.
There is an abundance of tactics your business can capitalise from and it all starts with looking at what society is presenting to you. Before jumping the gun and investing in an entirely new product or services line, stop and think about ways you can embrace the times and make some quirky adaptions to your current business.
