The Summer Slowdown

June 2025

The Summer Slowdown: How to Keep Customers Engaged During Quiet Periods

For many businesses, summer brings a familiar challenge: the seasonal slowdown. As customers shift their focus to holidays, family time, or simply enjoying the sun, engagement and sales can take a noticeable dip.

But a quiet sales period doesn’t have to mean a quiet brand. In fact, summer is the perfect time to strengthen relationships, re-engage dormant contacts, and set the stage for a stronger Q3 and Q4. The key? Focus on value over volume, and engagement over aggressive selling.

Here’s how to keep customers warm, engaged, and ready to reconnect—without overwhelming them.

 

1. Create Personalised Content That Feels Seasonal

Your audience may not be ready to buy, but they’re still checking emails, scrolling social feeds, and browsing for ideas. This is your opportunity to offer helpful, light-touch content that keeps your brand top-of-mind.

  • Send personalised recommendations based on past purchases or behaviours (e.g. “Here’s your perfect summer pick…”).
  • Share content that fits the season, like how-to guides, checklists, or planning tips.
  • Use segmentation to tailor your messaging by customer type, interest, or engagement level.

Keep things relevant, relaxed, and visually appealing—summer content should be as refreshing as the season itself.

 

2. Launch or Promote Your Loyalty Program

If you have a loyalty program, summer is a great time to bring it to the forefront. Customers may not be in a spending mindset, but incentives and exclusive perks can still spark interest.

  • Offer double points or exclusive rewards during summer months.
  • Encourage customers to redeem existing points, which brings them back to your site or platform.
  • Highlight member-only benefits like early access to autumn collections or services.

Don’t have a loyalty program yet? Now’s the time to build one—especially as you prepare for the more competitive second half of the year.

 

3. Build a Win-Back or Re-Engagement Campaign

Quiet periods are ideal for reconnecting with customers who’ve gone inactive. You’re not competing with peak season noise, and your audience may have more bandwidth to engage.
Try this:

  • Identify inactive customers who haven’t engaged in 3–6 months.
  • Create a win-back email flow with soft incentives: early-bird offers, exclusive content, or a simple “We miss you” message.
  • Use your CRM’s segmentation tools to tailor offers based on previous behaviours or preferences.

Make sure to track responses so you can refine your messaging and plan stronger re-engagement efforts for Q3.

 

4. Run Light-Touch Engagement Campaigns

Not every campaign has to be sales-driven. Use this time to show the personality behind your brand and nurture trust.
Ideas include:

  • Behind-the-scenes content: Show your team, process, or summer plans.
  • Customer spotlights or stories: Invite your community to share how they use your product or service during summer.
  • Interactive polls, quizzes, or giveaways: These keep engagement high while collecting valuable feedback or insights.

Your CRM can help automate these flows and track results—ensuring you’re not adding extra pressure to your team.

 

5. Use the Time to Optimise Internally

If customer activity is down, your internal focus can shift toward system improvements.

  • Clean and segment your database (building on your spring cleaning efforts).
  • Refine your automated journeys so they’re sharper for autumn.
  • Evaluate underused tools or integrations to get more out of your tech stack.

You’ll come out of the slower season leaner, more efficient, and more aligned for the second half of the year.

 

Don’t Disappear—Stay Present, Stay Relevant

Summer isn’t about pushing for sales that aren’t there. It’s about being present and useful, maintaining momentum, and setting the stage for future opportunities.

With the right campaigns and tools—like segmentation, automation, and personalised messaging—you can keep your audience warm until they’re ready to act again.

Need help building smart, light-touch engagement strategies for the summer season? We’re here to help you make the most of your quiet periods and prepare for the months ahead. Let’s talk about what success can look like, even in the off-season.

 

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