Is your temperature about to go up? I am not necessarily referring to the weather, nor am I talking about body temperature; although both could have a big impact on what I am explaining. I am speaking of the marketing temperature of your customers and potential customers – what we call your target market – and how eager they are to buy something now.

There are times when people are ready to buy. That happens seasonally, but it can also happen when they have been denied something for an extended period of time. It is the job of marketing to hit them when their hot. Right now, the consumer marketing temperature is about to get red hot. One of the results of the shelter-in-place situation we are living out is a pent-up desire to get out of the house and buy something. People buy on emotion and they tend to do so in herds. In other words, when the health restrictions are lifted and businesses are allowed to open once again, expect a run on products like it was Black Friday on steroids. Consumers are ready to go. If you are in charge of your marketing, get ready for it. Now is the time to plan your Coming Out of Shelter Specials.

Here is another temperature to measure the mood of the market: it is Spring. It is getting warmer outside. When that happens, people are happier (there are chemical/biological reasons for this: see our earlier blog Spring is the perfect time to market something new.) They stay outside longer than they would just a month earlier. Why? The bottom line is because it makes them feel good. Happy people are more likely to buy things than unhappy people. Our mood impacts our buying habits, and our mood of happiness is directly tied to the temps outside. So here is the scenario we have currently: people who would normally be out more often shopping in the warm spring weather have had to stay inside and wait. The marketing temperature goes up when the weather warms up each Spring. This is another reason you should get ready for a surge in sales.

The third temperature is something of a new phenomenon that has grown out of this health crisis. There is a new awareness of just how quickly and maliciously a virus can spread. Many businesses are now requiring people to have their temperature taken before they enter a building. This is particularly true of healthcare facilities and places where you might come into contact with the elderly. So if someone who has a red hot marketing desire to buy something now, what would keep them from buying from you? Virus fear! Even if you don’t work in these kind of industries where it is crucial to be healthy before you enter the building, expect the sanitation of your place of business to become a marketing promotional issue very soon. To convince our target market that it is safe to be in our space, you will have to give them some kind of assurance that your space is clean, that minimal touching of common areas has occurred and that anyone who is showing signs of sickness will be removed. Your marketing will need to reflect this. So you may think about branding your company’s virus free policy to make it stick with your customers.