The beaches are full, decks are busy, and these are arguably the best days of the season. The crowds are beginning to thin, traffic gets a little easier, and those of us who live here get to enjoy the Tahoe we love.
But if you've lived and worked here long enough, you know the calendar doesn't tell the whole story.
Summer may still be here, but the season is already changing.
For many business owners, August is when we begin looking ahead. We start watching the calendar, tightening budgets, and preparing for the shoulder season. It's also the time when many businesses begin looking for expenses to cut.
Too often, advertising is one of the first things to go.
On the surface, that seems like a logical decision. If business is slowing down, why spend money promoting it?
The answer is simple.
Because your customers aren't done making decisions.
They're simply making different ones.
People may not be booking today's activities with the same urgency they had in July, but they're still deciding where they'll shop, who they'll hire, where they'll stay, and which businesses they'll remember when they return.
The businesses that remain visible through the shoulder season are often the businesses customers think of first when they're ready to act in October.
Advertising isn't just about filling today's calendar.
It's about staying part of tomorrow's conversation.
That doesn't mean spending more. Reaching them now before they head back to their homes saves 3X the ad spend.
It means spending smarter.
A well-planned advertising campaign with clear goals, the right audience, and consistent messaging will almost always outperform random promotions or simply hoping your social media posts get noticed. Today’s algorithms are geographically aware.
Consistency builds familiarity.
Familiarity builds trust.
Trust builds business.
When the pace slows, it's tempting to go quiet.
But disappearing from view rarely saves money in the long run. It often means starting over when the busy season returns.
The businesses that continue communicating through the slower months maintain momentum while everyone else is trying to rebuild it.
As we move toward the shoulder season, don't think of advertising as an expense to eliminate. Think of it as an investment in staying visible.
Your customers may not be ready to buy today, but they're already deciding who they'll buy from tomorrow.
Make sure you're part of that decision.
If there is a topic you’d like to hear more about, by all means comment below or direct message, and I’ll do my best.
Nothing better than a good question to jump into.
Reach out for a talk over coffee or a hike. tgold@bigwaterci.com
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Trina Gold
Master Creator
