If you’ve had the pedal to the medal, pushing hard to make sales quotas, budget projections and production schedules, we urge you to take a break for a bit of nonsense and about laughter. If you need another excuse, do it for your mother.
But we must point out that while fun and games can boost all of the above, it can be just like a sugar high, ready for a crash.
The foundation of good morale and productivity is hiring the right people. Yes – don’t hire grumps. And the people must have clear roles, responsibities, expectations and goals. And they must receive training and coaching which includes feedback, direction, support and recognition from a trusted manager or coach.
If these aren’t in place, this article is NOT for you. If they ARE in place, I encourage you to put this quote to work every now and then.
Here are ten July only opportunities for boosting morale and productivity. In some cases, you may feel like a fool. Your teammates may roll their eyes. But they will laugh too. And that will lighten the load, break the tension and maybe even bring people closer together. Not just today – but down the road as they think about or talk about the day that ___________ (fill in the blank).
- Invite everyone to meet for a picnic and local fireworks. That way you get to celebrate Independence Day and National Picnic Month at the same time.
- Invite everyone over to celebrate National Hot Dog Month. Or if conditions allow, grill them at your office. Include baked beans and you can celebrate National Baked Bean Month at the same time.
- Celebrate National Ice Cream Month by bringing in a box of ice cream sandwiches or nutty buddies to the office. Deliver them desk to desk after lunch on one or more hot days. Or bring them to a staff meeting.
- Or you could have an ice cream sundae party. You could supply the ice cream and ask everyone else to bring a favorite topping.
- Or it would be really cool if you could arrange for an ice cream truck to show up in your parking lot one afternoon – or lots of afternoons!
- Or you could take the staff to a local dairy farm, take a tour and of course, eat lots of samples. Perhaps invite spouses and kids to join in.
- This one is kind of odd – National Pickle Month. Get a jar of sweet pickles and a jar of dill ones. Put them on a plate and pass them around. Notice any trends about those who take the sweet ones and those who take the sour ones?
- Get a jar of horseradish and bring it to a staff meeting. Tell everyone that it’s National Horseradish Month and ask them how they plan to celebrate. Best answer wins the jar of horseradish.
- Another staff meeting idea: Celebrate National Cell Phone Courtesy Month by asking everyone about their pet peeves regarding cell phone use. Post these on the wall for future reference.
- Celebrate National Blueberry Month by bringing in a huge blueberry cobbler. Ice cream too to celebrate National Ice Cream Month.
Warning – Before you begin, re-read paragraphs 1 and 2.
Also see: 10 Marketing Opportunities July Only.
Related Articles
.July-Only Marketing Ideas
In addition to fireworks on the 4th of July, there are many opportunities to heat things up in the revenue department. A potential side benefit internally…a boost to morale and productivity. All good for bottom line performance.
July is:
- National Ice Cream Month.
- National Hot Dog Month.
- National Horseradish Month.
- National Pickle Month.
- National Picnic Month.
- National Baked Bean Month.
- National Smart Irrigation Month.
- National Women’s Motorcycle Month.
- National Nutrition Month.
- National Sandwich Generation Month.
How can you use these occasions to boost business?
If you sell any of these or related products:
- Set up a table at the front of the store with signage and associated products for any of the occasions listed above.
- Offer something special if you can – like a discount on merchandise to help people celebrate any of the occasions listed above.
- If you have any advertising money, run ads inviting people in to celebrate with you.
- Tweet about your in-store celebration and special offer if there is one.
- Put it on your Facebook page.
- Announce it to your e-mail subscriber list.
If you don’t sell any of these or related products, you can still be involved by doing things like:
- Give out ice cream sandwiches one day and tell your customers you are celebrating National Ice Cream Month.
- Cook and give out hotdogs one day.
- Have a drawing for a lovely, packed picnic basket for two. Take entries all month long. Draw the lucky winner on July 31.
- Give branded promotional products to your customers.
If you sell advertising…be sure to contact your clients with ideas on how to celebrate these June occasions. They may not accept all your ideas but they will appreciate your creativity and commitment to bringing them results. You’ll be delivering added value and setting yourself apart from the competition.
There you have it! A month of HOT marketing opportunities! Make it fun and see some serious results.
If you put any of these ideas to work this month, share your story and photos with Business Class Inc. We’ll post them for everyone to see just how your business boosted morale, productivity and maybe even the bottom line!
Note: These are fun things to celebrate with your staff as well. Also see 10 Morale & Productivity Boosting Ideas for July Only.
Link to other months of the year
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2014