Quarterly marketing strategies
- Hillary Moulliet
- Aug 3
- 7 min read
The Tuesday morning reality check
It's 10am Tuesday, and you're posting on Instagram hoping someone—anyone—will book a seat in tonight's class. You're wondering why last month's Facebook ads worked so well but this month they're falling flat. Meanwhile, you just remembered you haven't planned your back-to-school promotions—and school starts in three weeks.
Sound familiar? You're not alone. It's so easy to live in a constant state of marketing reactivity, always chasing the next customer instead of building sustainable systems that bring customers to you.
Why studio marketing often doesn't convert
Here's the uncomfortable truth: posting pretty pottery pictures on Instagram isn't a marketing strategy. Neither is running the same Facebook ad for a month or hoping word-of-mouth will magically fill your calendar.
The real problem? You're thinking in days and weeks when you should be thinking in seasons and quarters. You're trying to solve today's empty tables with today's posts, but your customers aren't making last-minute decisions about their family activities, date nights, or class bookings.
The solution starts with understanding a fundamental disconnect: you're marketing on your timeline, but your customers are planning on theirs.
The psychology of customer planning cycles
Understanding when your customers actually make decisions changes everything:
Parents planning birthday parties: 4-8 weeks out.
Schools booking field trips: 2-3 months ahead.
Corporate groups planning team building: 6-12 weeks in advance.
Families planning summer activities: Start in March and April.
Holiday party bookings: Begin serious planning in September.
So how do you align your marketing timeline with your customers' planning cycles? Here's what a strategic quarterly approach actually looks like.
A quarterly marketing strategy isn't just a fancy calendar
A quarterly marketing system transforms the way you approach your business—from posts, website updates and email creation to seasonal merchandising, inventory orders and class/event planning.
The quarterly system works in three phases: plan (analyze data and create campaigns), execute (launch promotions and monitor results), and optimize (maximize opportunities while preparing for the next quarter).
Common quarterly planning mistakes
Planning too late: Don't wait until the quarter starts to plan. Begin planning each quarter at least 6-8 weeks in advance.
Ignoring your data: Your past performance is the best predictor of future success. Use actual data, not hopeful assumptions.
Over-planning without flexibility: Build in room for adjustments. A quarterly strategy is a roadmap, not a rigid set of rules.
Focusing only on new customers: Include strategies for retaining and upselling existing customers in every quarter.
Setting unrealistic goals: Base your quarterly goals on historical data plus reasonable growth assumptions, not wishful thinking.
The data that drives quarterly decisions
Your quarterly strategy should be based on actual data, not guesswork. Track these metrics each quarter and use this data to make informed decisions about where to focus your marketing efforts and budget: revenue metrics (monthly sales, transaction values, repeat customers), marketing metrics (website traffic, social media engagement, email performance), and operational metrics (peak times, popular offerings, booking patterns).
Marketing IN your studio: increasing repeat visits and in-studio sales
These in-studio marketing elements should be aligned with your digital marketing:
Visual marketing: Seasonal displays in the windows, on the shelves, and at the POS.
Experience-based marketing: Seasonal collections, new techniques, next-visit incentives, cross-selling.
Customer retention touchpoints: Follow-up scheduling, loyalty check-ins, referral reminders, email capture, and social media encouragement.
Quarterly campaign examples: Specific in-studio marketing themes that align with each quarter's focus.
How to determine your quarterly marketing budget
Most pottery studio owners either spend next to nothing on marketing (hoping word-of-mouth will do everything) or panic-spend money randomly when business is slow. Neither approach builds sustainable growth. Consider these factors when planning your quarterly budget:
Online/digital marketing expenses
Paid ads and paid promotions: social media, print (newspaper), Google.
Setup at events, fairs, markets.
Email marketing.
Website expenses (platform, maintenance).
Texting service.
Collaborations.
Giveaways.
Loyalty programs.
Canva and other design platforms.
Monthly or annual membership expenses (TCR or a Facebook group, for example).
Chamber of Commerce membership and/or networking events.
In-studio marketing expenses
Painted samples and displays: windows, bisque shelving, POS.
Printed material: business cards, posters, flyers, handouts, all promotional copies.
Table signage.
Bathroom signage.
Start with the 5-10% Rule
A healthy pottery studio should invest 5-10% of gross revenue in marketing. If you're generating $200,000 annually, that's $10,000-20,000 per year for marketing activities.
New studios or those in growth mode might invest closer to 10-15%, while established studios with strong word-of-mouth can often maintain growth with 5-7%.
The quarterly budget breakdown
Once you know your annual marketing budget, allocate it based on your revenue patterns and customer behavior. Allocate your marketing budget based on revenue patterns and customer planning cycles—invest more in high-revenue quarters while strategically funding growth periods, always accounting for the fact that customers plan months ahead.
The quarterly review process
At the end of each quarter, spend time reviewing what worked and what didn't.
Which campaigns generated the most revenue?
What content got the highest engagement?
Which partnerships or collaborations were most successful?
What unexpected opportunities emerged?
What challenges did you face and how can you prepare for them next time?
Common budget mistakes to avoid
Equal distribution: Spending the same amount each quarter ignores your business's natural rhythms and customer planning cycles.
Cutting marketing when revenue drops: When business is slow, that's when you need marketing most—but spend strategically, not desperately.
Not tracking customer source: If you don't know which marketing activities bring in customers, you can't make smart budget decisions.
Why most studios don't stick with a plan
Here's the reality: quarterly planning takes effort upfront but saves enormous time and stress throughout the year. Most studios give up because they don't see immediate results, but marketing is a long-term game. The studios that stick with strategic quarterly planning consistently outperform those that remain reactive.
What's next: two paths to quarterly marketing success
Now that you understand the power of quarterly planning, you have two options for implementation: DIY or partnering with the industry professionals.
DIY approach: build your own quarterly plans
Ready to tackle this yourself? Here's how to build your first quarterly marketing plan:
Week 1: Data gathering - Collect last year's sales data, website analytics, and customer feedback. Identify your strongest and weakest quarters.
Week 2: Goal setting - Set specific, measurable goals for the next quarter based on your historical data plus reasonable growth targets.
Week 3: Strategy development - Plan your campaigns, content themes, and promotional calendar for the quarter.
Week 4: Implementation setup - Create your content, schedule your posts, set up your tracking systems, and prepare your team.
What tools are needed to organize and create your marketing strategy? To execute this strategy effectively, you'll need basic planning tools like Google Calendar and/or Excel spreadsheets for campaign mapping, reporting capabilities from your POS for data analysis, a platform for sending emails (Mailchimp or Wix) and a platform for creating graphics and videos (Canva, Photoshop). It's recommended to store all of your planning and reports on a computer outside of your studio or on an external hard drive.
Partnership approach: work with our TCR marketing team
Here's the reality: while quarterly planning is absolutely doable on your own, many studio owners find themselves stuck at the data analysis stage or struggling to create cohesive campaigns that actually drive bookings—or they simply lack the time and focus to create and deliver ongoing marketing plans that convert into sales growth.
That's exactly why we've developed strategic marketing plans specifically for pottery studios. Instead of you spending weeks figuring out what worked and what didn't, we dive deep into your studio's data, identify your biggest opportunities, and create a complete quarterly roadmap tailored to your studio, your community, and your goals.
What a TCR strategic marketing partnership includes*
Quarterly strategy sessions: comprehensive 90-minute planning calls where we analyze your studio's performance, identify growth opportunities, and create your personalized marketing roadmap with detailed calendars and step-by-step guides for the upcoming quarter's digital and in-studio campaigns.
Your studio's Facebook and Instagram posts created and scheduled every day (TikTok and Linked in with Full Service) .
Two emails created and sent the first and third week of each month.
Monthly Birthday Club email campaign to drive targeted sales, created and sent the first of every month.
Monthly reporting on website analytics (Wix sites), social media performance, and AI chatbot visits (exclusive Wix integration!).
Detailed breakdown of what the numbers mean and how we'll use them for growth
Specific plans for digital marketing (social media, website, Google Business Page, email) and in-studio marketing (displays, sample ideas, signage, and come-back campaigns).
Monthly community check-ins to discuss current marketing trends and studio news.
The entire TCR team as your marketing department: access to three marketing and design specialists means diverse expertise and comprehensive business support.
Free membership to The Creative Retailer: access to 3,000+ studio-specific images ready to use on your website, flyers, posters, and studio signage.
Ongoing marketing and design support from the entire TCR team.
*The work we do with you and for you depends on the level you select. More info on those other services are found here.
Why studios choose to partner with TCR's marketing team
The biggest challenge isn't understanding that quarterly planning works—it's finding the time to do it properly while running a busy studio. Most studio owners tell us they know they should be planning ahead, but between managing inventory, staff and an event/class calendar on top of handling day-to-day operations, strategic marketing planning gets pushed to "someday."
Our studio owners love that they can focus on what they do best (creating amazing experiences) while knowing their marketing is being handled strategically and professionally. They're not scrambling for last-minute Halloween posts or wondering why their summer camps aren't filling up.
When you partner with TCR, you get immediate access to proven pottery studio marketing expertise, professional-quality content that converts, and data-driven strategies that fill your seats and classes. Most importantly, you reclaim your time to focus on the work you love to do in your studio, while knowing your business growth is in expert hands.
To get started, visit our Marketing Services page or email Hillary@TheCreativeRetailer.com.
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