Developing a Successful Store Marketing Calendar

If you are among the rare breed of retailers who plan your marketing calendar a year or even six months in advance, KUDOS! You should be very proud of yourself and we are betting your store sales are grateful, as well. For that matter, we are betting your pockets are grateful, also!

If you are among the majority of retailers who simply don’t take the time to plan your marketing in advance, don’t freak out… there’s time to correct this. But do address this major no-no and decide now (as in today, literally) to make a change.

Ready to get started? Gain three tips below to help you better plan for a successful store marketing calendar.

1. Know what you are doing at least six months ahead of when you are doing it. While there are exceptions to every rule, if you schedule your calendar in advance, you will instinctively be able to better promote it, plan for it and make your marketing goals stronger in return. We love SnapRetail’s retail calendar, which helps independent businesses like yourself manage their in-store events and other marketing initiatives. Plus, they provide ideas,  support, social media posts, event reminders, task lists and more to help support you.

2. Plan your calendar to compliment your local community’s special event calendar. If your local town has an annual event every year that draws in a crowd, leverage this and create your own store event to both support it and attract customers. Be mindful of your community’s events, allowing you to maximize your own store return on what they are already doing to promote them, etc. while also creating something exciting and fun uniquely for your store.

3. Order select inventory according to your marketing calendar. Have a special event coming up that would be extra special with new inventory? When you have a clear marketing calendar identified, you can cross reference it as you are making buying decisions. Not only will this save your stock room from being overcrowded if inventory arrives way too soon, but it also allows you to better accommodate your event goals.

Finally, if planning ahead isn’t your thing… consider this. Once you get through one year of a marketing calendar identified and used proactively within your total store goals, you will already have your marketing calendar identified for the year ahead. In other words, in the long term you will be saving yourself time. Now who can argue with that?