If you run a business that’s related to the outdoors, then you have an exciting promotional opportunity on your hands. Because June is Great Outdoors Month, you not only get to share your love of experiencing the great outdoors. You also have the chance to grow your business in existing new ways.
So, don’t miss the opportunity this month provides. Learn more about this special month and five different ways to make the most of it and grow your sales in the process.
What is Great Outdoors Month?
June is one of the best months of the year to not only share your passion for the outdoors but encourage others to join in and experience the fun as well. Because every year, we get to celebrate and honor the outdoors with Great Outdoors Month.
This national celebration designated by a presidential proclamation exists for us to spend time honoring, learning, and experiencing the natural heritage we all share.
And it encapsulates additional celebrations, like National Trails Day and the Great American Backyard Campout. Bonus: June is also National Camping Month.
5 creative campaigns for Great Outdoors Month
If you’re an outdoor goods store, operate an outdoor guide company, sell outdoor products through your eCommerce shop, or run another kind of company related to the outdoors, then these tips are for you.
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Offer a Great Outdoors Month coupon.
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Feature stories on outdoor bliss.
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Get in their inboxes.
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Create a community event
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Go mobile first.
Below we’ll take a look at these five ways you can harness the power of Great Outdoors Month to grow your business — and have fun doing it.
1. Offer a Great Outdoors Month coupon
One of the best ways to encourage people to purchase outdoor gear is to make it as easy as possible. Maybe they want to go camping, but the costs of investing in new camping gear have been prohibitive. Well, in honor of Great Outdoors Month, you’re making it as easy as possible by offering a coupon that guarantees a certain percentage off their total order.
Of course, this can also work for outdoor service companies. Offer a coupon or discount for first-timers, in order to get as many people having fun outside as possible. But, remember to couple this with email marketing, so you can stay in touch with your new customers over the long term (more on this below).
2. Features stories of outdoor bliss
Spend time creating content related to people enjoying the outdoors. This involves things like highlighting an employee who takes backpacking trips every weekend. Or, recording a video of a satisfied customer who loves their new inflatable kayak.
Stories, photos and video can go a long way toward encouraging people to invest in new gear.
The same goes for outdoor-based service businesses: People love to see other people having fun.
Get some inspiration from the team at Patagonia and how they create an enticing outdoor aesthetic around all of their products. Remember: Selling outdoor products and services is just as much about selling the lifestyle as it is selling the products and services.
3. Get in their inboxes
Email marketing will allow you build a deeper relationship with your customers. Whenever they do business with you or land on your site, you should encourage them to join your email list. If you decide to go with the incentive coupon above, encourage your customers to join your email list to access the coupon and get access to other hidden discounts.
In honor of Great Outdoors Month, you could even create an email series that offers fun and exciting ideas to help them take advantage of this month. For a sales boost, reference the products or services they can buy to enhance the experience.
4. Create a community event
If you have a locally based outdoor business, think about creating a community event. This could be a campout, a BBQ or even a short hike. The goal is to create something fun that gets people out of their houses, breathing the fresh air, and enjoying nature.
You could also consider partnering with other outdoor companies to help pull off the event, too. This will not only increase the attendance, but will also be a great way to build local relationships and partnerships.
Finally, consider offering coupons to anyone who attends the event and encourage them to either drop by your shop or visit your website.
5. Go mobile first
Shopping and browsing preferences are already shifting towards mobile, but this is doubly true for the outdoors market, where people are even more likely to be on the move.
If your website isn’t already mobile-friendly, then take this month to update your site, so you can better meet the needs of your market.
This goes for every aspect of your digital strategy, too, from the emails you send and the content you create to your social media posts.
In conclusion
Hopefully, these tips will leave you better prepared to take advantage of Great Outdoors Month by encouraging your customers to get outside — and stop by your shop or business.
