Put a pumpkin on it

What is “it,” you ask? Pretty much anything. During the fall season, you will notice that pumpkin spice makes its way into everything. The food and drink industry puts pumpkin into lattes, muffins, pancakes, or beer–if you can ingest it, restaurants and cafes will pumpkin spice it. If your business doesn’t have the ability to put actual pumpkin into its products, you can still poke fun at the trend. A realtor can offer pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin pies at an open house. Or, for a more comedic approach, a mechanic shop could advertise pumpkin spice oil changes. Have some fun promoting these products on your website and to your email subscribers and social media followers. Add a festive touch to your logos and profile photos on social media and continue this throughout the holiday season. You can use a jack-o-lantern during Halloween, or a cornucopia close to Thanksgiving.

Get involved in your community.

Speaking of publicity, there are tons of opportunities to become more involved in your community and in doing so–getting your name out there. One of the key factors of marketing is making sure that people know your company exists. Chances are that organizations in your area host a fall fair or Oktoberfest, so find out how to set up a booth or get involved in sponsoring the event. Join up with local, non-competing businesses to organize trick-or-treating events to get customers (existing and potential) to make the rounds in your downtown or shopping district, hand out candy to kids and maybe market yourself to their parents. Make it a goal to add one new networking event to your calendar this month. Marketing isn’t just about paid advertising, websites, and logos. It’s about putting your business out there and building relationships and networks of people who will recommend you to others.

The most important piece of advice for fall marketing is to DO IT. Simply put, if you miss out on marketing–you miss out on business.