Sun. Beach. Children playing in the sand. Beer. Naps. Walks around the countryside or beach. Silence. Nature. Peace. Idyllic right? This is the image that we all have of summer and vacations... but those of us who work in Marketing know that this isn't always the case.
September is one of the months with the most frantic activity in all companies and organizations. The famous return to school is always accompanied by new releases, promotions, campaigns, events, sales objectives, and much more.
To prevent the madness of September from ruining your holidays, we have compiled five tips to help you optimize your Marketing department structure in summer.
Pay attention to the vacation of your Marketing Department
Although many things come to a pause - or a complete stop - in July and August, we still need to have hands and brains available during summer. With a more globalized economy, things don't necessarily need to stop in summer, and summer break seems to end earlier every year. Most companies advance their return to full activity to the last week of August, and by this time, higher-ups already want to see Marketing proposals.
It's up to your business to organize your team appropriately, making sure that everyone isn't away on holiday at the same time and that there are always the key roles around to work parts of July and August. That way, you'll avoid the avalanche of work that stacks up around the beginning of September.
Sit down with customers and employees
If you can, take the opportunity before the summer and slow down to visit suppliers and clients. In summer, there are always fewer meetings and things tend to slip to the wayside. Make sure you know what your customers expect before, during, and after summer.
Also, talk to your sales department. They're ones on the street or on the telephone every day. Listen to your customer service team and dig deeper into the reality of sales and services processes. Is there something you can automate with workflows or chatbots to make holidays breaks (and your overall strategy) run more smoothly?
Summer is the perfect time to catch up with all your employees.Sit down with managers, executives, and even junior employees to see what's on their plate and what's coming down the pipeline. See what needs improvement and what your business is doing well.
Don't go into “countdown” mode before summer
It's difficult, I know. But doing a countdown to your vacation will cause you to not pay attention to the tasks at hand, and you won't properly prepare for your time away - or worse - what awaits you when you return. Unconsciously, you will also transmit this anxiousness to already be on holiday to your team and co-workers.
Take advantage of your "off time" to stay updated
Holidays are fundamental to disconnect and rest. But even Rafael Nadal plays tennis when he's taking a break... what I mean to say is that to be the best, to be a truly great Marketing professional, you have to stay abreast of what's going on in your industry, even when you're not working. Your vacation time might be the perfect chance to browse some Marketing blogs and review the latest trends. But also remember to go offline for at least a little while - studies show that vacations are essential for boosting productivity and creativity.
Think about next summer
Sounds weird, right? But you need to keep track of everything you've done right and everything you've done wrong this summer. That way, you'll know what to avoid next year!
These five tips, in addition to better preparing your Marketing department structure for September, will help your company make the most out of summer. If you're considering outsourcing your Marketing as a way to optimize your department, look no further than our mbudo Inbound Marketing Agency in Madrid.
David Romero
David has more than 20 years of experience directing Marketing teams in national and multinational companies. He has over 10 years of experience implementing Inbound Marketing strategies with a commercial focus for B2B companies. His motto is: always be learning.