What do falling leaves (at least a few), pumpkin flavor everywhere, and temperatures below 85 degrees signal to Arizonans everywhere? Snowbird (aka "Winter Visitors") season, of course (and yes, fall is another good answer)! As fall gets underway, these seasonal travelers spread their wings and head to our home state to escape the snowfall and bitter cold. We can't blame them!
Have you considered marketing to seasonal travelers and snowbirds? It just may be one of the best seasonal marketing ideas this time of year. Here are some tips.
Finding a fit
First, think about whether snowbirds even fit your persona, or ideal customer profile. If you sell a subscription service that delivers a box each month of the latest technology gadgets and trendy clothing items, snowbirds are probably not right for you. Most of the folks in this group, after all, are retired (which is why they can leave their homes for a big chunk of the year and actually move elsewhere).
The seasonal travelers likely are in good health to make such a trek. We can safely guess that most snowbirds, then, are between 60 and 80 years old. Is this a promising demographic for your products or services? If yes, keep reading.
Second, consider what a snowbird’s life might be like. It’s very possible they have children and grandchildren (perhaps back in their home state or somewhere else entirely), and since most of them are retired, they may have more time for leisure than most. If you lead marketing for a health club that has luxury amenities and equipment that seniors tend to enjoy (like an indoor pool and stationary bikes), you have something valuable to offer snowbirds.
Or if you’re the marketing director of a children’s karate center, you could try targeting the grandchildren of snowbirds who may come to visit. Both of these scenarios would require some creativity, and coming up with some sort of seasonal pass or class card that would work for a short-term visitor. But you could get a good amount of new customers simply by thinking about how your business can add value or joy to snowbirds and their families.
Go where they go
So, how do you find this group? Do some research to find other businesses in your area they may frequent. Is there a senior center near your office? Ask to advertise on their platforms, including traditional flyers. Is there a golf course in your neighborhood, which tends to get an influx of snowbird players as the weather cools down? See if you can create a partnership with the golf course and advertise to each other’s customer bases.
Another idea when marketing to snowbirds is to run targeted advertising campaigns or to write content they might be interested in. One of the best ways to know to this is to ask them! We like getting in the heads of our target audience to understand their motivations and pain points when looking for activities, products or services. Since snowbirds love our great state, you probably know a few or could ask a coworker, family, or friends to spend some time asking them questions or even create a survey that can be sent out to learn more about what interests them when they come to visit.
These are just a few tips to improve marketing to seasonal travelers to help you attract the Arizona snowbirds and their families to your business this year. If you’d like help setting a strategy or with specific digital marketing tactics, give us a call!
Work Habits & Productivity
As StringCan's Chief Operating Officer, Sarah is a solutionist who loves to implement and enhance efficiencies for herself and the team. She strives to support and help people be their best self in and outside of work. Sarah also gets her best ideas by lounging in a body of water. Cocktail is optional. But not really.
Jay, the CEO of StringCan, oversees strategy and vision, building culture that makes going into work something he looks forward to, recruiting additional awesome team members to help exceed clients goals, leading the team and allocating where StringCan invests time and money.
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