How Weather-Triggered Marketing Creates More Meaningful, Effective Interactions with Customers

If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes. Weather can change our daily plans in an instant. Think about it … how often do you check the weather app on your device?  

Much of what we do can be influenced by the weather:

• How we dress (we change our closets with the season).
• What we eat (we might crave warm soup in the cold of winter or ice cream on a warm summer day).
• Where we go (we’ll forgo happy hour on the patio if it’s pouring rain outside).
• How we’re feeling (Some people feel their energy is lower when there’s less sun and conversely, are more energetic or likely to go places when it’s sunny and pleasant.)

Whether we’re consciously aware of it or not, weather can strongly influence how and where we spend our money. A Canadian study found that exposure to sunlight correlated with higher levels of consumption and a higher dollar amount spent per item. When exposed to sunlight in the study, consumers were willing to pay 37 percent more for green tea, while during cloudy conditions, they were more likely to spend money on alcohol and coffee. 

Sophisticated marketers should consider weather-triggered marketing when planning their next campaign! 

What is Weather-Triggered Marketing? 

Are you in an industry where the weather has a certain degree of impact on your customers; behavior? Weather-triggered marketing uses weather data to create adaptive campaigns that account for different weather conditions such as temperature, wind, and precipitation. 

Marketers can analyze past sales data against weather information and predict future sales opportunities. Do certain products sell better in the winter or summer? Is foot traffic or online shopping affected by different weather conditions? This information increases the relevance of marketing messages based on real-time information and adds authenticity to messages. Weather-triggered marketing creates a more meaningful consumer interactions and greatly improves conversion rates.

How Marketers Can Use Weather-Related Data

Though it might seem tempting, don’t rely on your intuition or anecdotal evidence. Truly effective and measurable sales results are driven by methodical data analysis. 

Here are six smart ways marketers can use weather related data (and keep reading for examples below!):

1. Create intelligent campaign triggers. For example, automatically display ads for specific products or services under certain weather conditions.
2. Drive future sales based on weather patterns. Understand which products and services perform best under certain types of weather.
3. Build appropriate and relevant customized ads, promotions, and products based on the real-time environment.
4. Offer timely or seasonal services or products based on weather patterns
5. Capitalize on significant weather events in the days leading into, and following, the event to drive additional revenue.
6. Better manage your inventory and staffing to reflect weather-related demand implications.

B2E Data Scientists Build Weather Database for Business Sales Insights

After researching weather data solutions for B2E clients that were just too incomplete, our data scientists built our very own historical weather database using data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It includes high and low temperatures, average wind speed, precipitation, snow fall and snow depth for every day, every U.S. zip code – going back 10 years. Our WeatherFootprint tool contains 150 million records and 41,000 zip codes of data. 

This means we can match your historical sales data to the weather patterns unique to your location to determine the sales impact of different weather conditions. This data analysis can help predict future sales based on weather patterns.

Furnace Company Anticipates Sales Calls

A furnace company implemented B2E’s weather-triggered marketing to anticipate sales and service calls. We identified certain weather patterns (ex: temperature changes more than 10 degrees) that resulted in increased call volume. Once this pattern was observed, B2E monitored the seven-day forecast and recommended marketing campaigns via our MotusIP digital marketing tool. The client capitalized on driving sales before the weather event happened – instead of afterwards. As an added bonus, the company didn’t get overwhelmed with sales calls when the weather event hit. They proactively managed their workflow and capitalized on each opportunity.

Two Degrees Triggers 66% Increase in Beer Sales

Through data analysis, Belgian beer Stella Artois® found that a two-degree temperature rise above monthly normal temperatures triggered an increase in sales. Using real-time weather data, the brand ran a campaign on a cost-per-minute basis, activating only when conditions were right to induce purchases. They achieved a 66 percent increase in year-over-year sales during the weather-responsive campaign. 

Heat and Humidity Increase Haircare Sales by 24%

When Pantene haircare faced stiff competition from incoming competitors, they used weather forecasting to deliver value to customers and drive more sales. When the weather forecasted heat and humidity, Pantene used targeted digital mobile ads to offer special savings and directions to the nearest place of purchase. The result was a 24 percent increase in sales and a monthly average of 370,655 organic impressions on social media.

Look to the Weather for Powerful, Actionable Insights into Consumer Behavior

The weather may be fickle, but your ad dollars shouldn’t be. Incorporating weather data analysis into your marketing plans helps companies deliver highly relevant content to customers and prospects and minimize wasted impressions – making every dollar work smarter. Reach out to the data experts at B2E to shed sunlight on your unique weather sales trends!