It probably would not surprise you to learn that 90% of Halloween costumes are purchased in the month of October. But did you know that 10% of annual hot wing sales occur on Super Bowl weekend? Or that antacid sales increase by 20% the Monday after the Super Bowl?

A deep understanding of how seasonal shifts impact your sales cycle can fuel new product innovation and service offers.

As marketers, we need to understand every facet of our customers' behavior in order to inform strategies that will help drive our business.  A deep understanding of how seasonal shifts impact your sales cycle can fuel new product innovation and service offers.

In some cases the trends are obvious (flags in July, roses in February, green beer in March), but in others, there is an opportunity to tailor your marketing strategy to seasonal trends in unique and subtle ways.  By recognizing both an important target and their associated shopping behavior, Apple capitalized on the back-to-school shopping season.  Refreshing their iPod line and creating effective promotional tie-ins are displays of seasonal mastery.  Apple not only gives students what they want, but they now use their seasonal awareness to direct consumer behavior.  How many of us have anxiously anticipated the fall release of Apple products and have planned our purchase around this timeframe?

Einstein once said, "If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got." Challenge your understanding of consumer insights by developing a deeper understanding of how behaviors change throughout the year.  Are their seasonal factors at play?  How can you change your message, your product, your packaging, or other aspects of you approach to capitalize on these?  Can these behaviors help you find opportunities to grow your business or help you innovate new solutions?