The past year has been one that no brand or consumer could have prepared for and with the easing of lockdown restrictions, the roll out of vaccines and a summer seasonal peak just round the corner, many are hoping that this is a return to normality.

Multiple lockdowns have had a very interesting effect on consumer confidence (to say the least), so as brands start think about Christmas and what this might look like without lockdowns, brands need to prepare their campaigns and stock. There are two reasons that this is something brands need to look at right now:

1. If we do continue our route back to normality, then stock will need to be available to meet the seasonal demand.
2. Brands cannot afford to face more stock unavailability whilst in the midst of a seasonal surge. 

So, needless to say, if your brand’s seasonal sales strategy for this year has not already begun, then now is the time to get the wheels in motion. But where exactly do you begin? Well, first you need make sure that you make stock available in store, and on shelf.

Timing is Important

As with most things, it is important that you have your plans finalised ahead of time so that you can move quickly when the peak draws close. That’s why it is important to ensure that stock is available in store at the correct moment so that your field teams can execute sales activity when the time is right.

For this to happen, your strategy must incorporate plenty of lead time. With the nation emerging from lockdown and retailers returning to normality, consumers will want to buy during the summer, during the Euro championships, music festival season, for religious celebrations, staycations, Halloween and of course Christmas. So, you need to have your strategy for these peaks ready to roll out far in advance.

Indeed, it is this foresight and ability to react quickly to the consumer climate that underlines the advantage brands get by working with field marketing agencies – they have the ability to quickly scale resource up to meet the seasonal peak demands.

Use Tactical Activation to Shore Up Product Availability

Making sure that you have your products in store ahead of peak is imperative to running a successful sales strategy when the rush begins. If you’re operating a permanent sales team then they can leverage the relationships that they have with key store contacts to ensure the right amount of product is ordered and available in store when peak season begins.

However, not every brand has this kind of resource on hand. That’s why tactical activation is a great solution when it comes to peak season – you can plan your strategy for peak then deploy the resource you need to take advantage of increased footfall to drive additional sales.

Availability and timing work hand in hand when it comes to field sales. Taken together they are a proven way for brands to get not only increase stock availability right at the time when stores are at their busiest, they are also a sure-fire way to increase sales during busy consumer periods.

Book Your Tactical Activation Now

Our tactical activation teams can move quickly. So even if you haven’t fully planned out what your activity will be in this year’s peak season, we can work with you to hammer out the details and book you the right type and level of resource to suit. We pull upon our bank of seasonal staff to deliver that plan, and even use EPOS data via our DART app to react to stock fluctuations in real time.

Don’t forget to stay tuned into our LinkedIn page as we discuss all the ways you can prepare for peak season.