Slacking on your Mother's Day marketing strategy? Don't worry; here's a last-minute guide that'll make it easy for you to cash in on this profitable holiday!
Mother's Day is right around the corner and you haven't even done any marketing for it yet.
And just as you've procrastinated promoting your Mother's Day marketing specials, many gift-givers have also procrastinated purchasing said gifts, which, luckily, puts you both in the same boat.
But why let those slackers end up at Walgreen's come Mother's Day morning (rummaging through a bin of generic "As Seen on TV" gifts) when you can entice them to purchase from your business instead?
Don't both you and momma deserve to be happy? Find out how you can cash in on this profitable holiday below:
Step 1: Decide What Your Deal(s) Will Be
Depending on time, resources, and budget, your deal may be something as simple as 'X' amount off total purchase or something as complex as free gift-wrapping with any order. (Just make sure you can tie a pretty bow.)
Here are some more ideas:
- Put a few of your relevant products together, call it your "Ultimate Gift Pack for Mom," and discount it at least $5-10 off than if they were to buy the products separately.
- Appeal to procrastinators by running a special the Saturday before where they can receive $10 off any purchase of $50 or more. (Complimentary gift wrapping would work well here too since they're already crunched for time.)
- Run a "A gift for mom, a gift for you," promotion where anyone who makes a $50+ purchase the week leading up to the holiday will also receive a $5-10 gift card to your store for themselves.
- Put together a complimentary gift-wrapping station in your store where either you gift-wrap for customers or they can feel free to wrap their gifts themselves. This will save them time and money either way.
- Host a kids' shopping event where you invite little ones to come shop for their mothers at a discounted rate. Make it fun by providing sweets and juice while they shop. (The adult who brings them may end up purchasing too.)
- Offer 25% off last-minute gift purchases on the Friday and Saturday before the holiday. (Or more if you're comfortable with it.) You can also select only certain items this discount will be applicable for.
- Create a display that showcases gifts for moms and call it "Your One-Stop Mother's Day Gift-Giving Shop." Offer a discount for the featured products only.
- If you offer a service that a customer would be purchasing a gift card for, wrap it up in a pretty bag with a nice ribbon so they have something tangible, and attractive, to give.
Step 2: Promote Your Deal With Email MarketingOur senior marketing manager at Scott's Marketplace, Ashleigh Barlow, created this great image-filled Mother's Day newsletter for our email subscribers.
If you don't already have an email list, you'll want to skip this section and move on to step three since you won't have time to get one going by Mother's Day. If you do have a list, however, email marketing will be a valuable tool in the promotion of your specials.
You will want to use email to promote both your deal and what you have to offer for moms specifically. Include appealing images of your products and enticing content that explains the great, exclusive specials you're offering.
If you have the capability, putting together a little gift guide would be a great way to showcase what you have to offer moms. If not, include as many images as you can in your email and highlight the deal you're offering:
Feel free to steal any of these email subject lines:
- Find the perfect Mother's Day gift here
- Momma will be mad if you don't buy her this
- Get a free Mother's Day gift with any purchase
- 25% off all purchases for mom - today only
- Free gift wrapping + 35% off gifts for mom
- Shop for mom here (and we'll give you a free gift too!)
- Hey, slacker: Get 40% off gifts for mom Saturday only!
- Gifts mom will LOVE. Now you'll really be her favorite.
Step 3: Promote Your Deal Heavily on Social Media
Local business Fluff It Marshmallows is tempting their followers into buying tasty treats for mom.
Social media is a direct line to your customers and is going to be especially useful in getting the word out about your great Mother's Day marketing deal! Here are a few ideas below to get you started:
- Use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+ to promote your deals. Post a picture of your products with the information about your deal once per day. If you have a lot of followers on Twitter, you can post 2-3 times about your deal spaced out by a few hours at least.
- While the above tactic is blatant promotion, you can also try indirect promotion by doing something like creating your own hashtag for the holiday. Encourage your Twitter followers to share their funniest, weirdest, and/or wisest mom sayings. Give it a hashtag of #Momisms, #MotherKnowsBest, or #MommaAlwaysSaid. For example, mine would be something like this:
@MadeUpStore "Eat it or I'll rub it in your hair." #momisms
- Post mom-themed stuff on Facebook. For example, if you have a clothing store, ask followers to share pictures of the best (or funniest) looks their moms have worn -- or even iconic looks from TV's most well-known moms. You can also do the same on Pinterest by creating a special 'Mother's Day Board' and encouraging people to pin the looks there.
- Hold a superfast contest via Twitter or Facebook for a free gift for mom. (Facebook's new rules make holding last-minute contests a breeze.) When you announce the winner, be sure to tell any losers (don't call them that) that if they come into your store and mention your post, they'll receive 25% off any gifts for mom thanks to your "Procrastinator's Special."
Step 4: Promote Your Deal In-Store
With all the email and social media promotion you have to do, you might overlook the most obvious place you should be marketing your Mother's Day deal - your store! Here are a few ideas for you:
- Make signs for both the interior and exterior of your store to let people know about your promotion. These may have to be simple signs you create using PowerPoint or Word - whatever program you have and can use decently well -- because of the time restriction. But at least you'll let shoppers (and window shoppers) know what you have to offer!
- Decorate your storefront window for the holiday. If you know a local artist (who's in your budget), have him or her paint flowers on your window with the words, "Your Ultimate Mother's Day Gift Shop."
- Create small flyers for your deal and ask other local business owners in your area if you can put them in their store near the cash register. Do the same at your own store.
Stop Slacking and Get Started
Now that you have some ideas on the types of deals you should offer and how to promote them, it's time to get started!
Keep in mind that almost any industry can take advantage of this holiday, so don't be afraid to get niche with your marketing tactics.
For example, if you have a pet boutique, you could say something like, "Is your mom a pet lover? Get 25% off all items in our store this week only." Or if you own a nursery, you could by say something like, "If your mom loves to garden, you'll find new deals sprouting here all week long!"
The more creative you get with your marketing tactics, the more likely it is that your small business will stand out and see a boost in profit on the bigger, money-making holidays. Good luck!