What have you got planned for your Month of Romance? (don’t stop reading if you think this doesn’t apply to YOUR business.)
A lot of holidays and special events are dedicated to one day, but the key to strategic marketing is to extend the event into an entire month, it spreads out the “busy-ness” and makes it easier for more people to take advantage of your offer.
Valentine’s Day is a prime example of this – people get so focused on the ONE DAY – but extending it allows you to reap the sales benefits for the entire month, instead of maxing out capacity on a single day. This case particularly pertains to restaurants on the day of love, but it translates to other events in other businesses.
Think of it as a whole month that you should be promoting and getting people to come into your business, “A month of romance. We’re making Valentine’s Day last all month. Stop in for the sweetest opportunity. This offer expires…”
It’s all about timing.
You need to be able to catch customers at the right moment in order to drive them towards taking action. The trick is, we never know when that moment is, so the more marketing and communications you send, the more likely you are to connect. And, when you choose to link your marketing with an event they are already thinking about with a desirable offer, you’re connecting with them even more deeply.
As February has just begun, you have the opportunity to leverage event-based seasonal marketing campaigns to increase your sales and profits. By tapping into special events like Valentine’s Day or Superbowl, we can tap into consumer behavior patterns that already exist and present your business in a creative manner that resonates with them more effectively than general offers.
We know from experience that customers are already thinking about these events; therefore, it makes sense to make the most of their interest. Not only does this help us find relevance in our customer’s lives and conversations, but it also increases our chances of garnering positive responses and engaging interactions with them.
When planning an event-related campaign, here are a few best practices to keep in mind:
- Focus on relevant events: Choose an event that resonates with your target audience – that way it'll feel natural and authentic in your messaging.
- Leverage multiple channels – take advantage of all channels available including email, app notifications, social media posts, direct mail, blogs/articles, etc.
- Utilize data – use data to target specific segments of your customer base who may be more interested in your offer, or if the offer is strong enough, to reactivate inactive or lost customers.
- Design an offer that creates FOMO: when an offer is a tangible gift it’s a curiosity. When a non-rewards member sees someone getting a free gift, they’ll want to know how they can get one – which leads to more signups.
You should be thinking about next month NOW. St. Patrick’s Day is ripe for “lucky” offers and fun promotions tying in the theme. After that, it’s April, the promotion we have had the best success with is a “Tax Break Promotion” because everyone is thinking about taxes and the deadline for them. This year, for the first time ever, we’re offering it to non-Royalty Rewards® members – so if you want to try a winning campaign, click here for more info.
But the point is, you always need to be looking ahead and planning to tie your marketing into fun, topical events that are already on your customers’ minds.
Reinvent Yourself
Marketing guru Dan Kennedy talked about seasonal events being a great opportunity to “reinvent the business”. You can reinvent your business for one hour, one event, one week or one month, create a business within a business, so that you differentiate yourself from every similar business in your area. Have a compelling reason for people to come to your business, structure a compelling reason and offer for them to say “yes” to.
How can you create romance in your business, even if you aren’t a business people usually associate with Valentine’s Day? Make it a month of romance for your customer’s cars if you are in Auto Repair.
A Winning Campaign Idea
This is a campaign that we’ve promoted for years and makes use of an exciting premium by offering jewelry as a free gift with a purchase for your customers. These types of gifts, when bought in small bulk quantities from wholesalers, are a cost-effective way to give away something of a high perceived value at a low cost to you.
A jewelry giveaway makes you stand out from anything your competitors are doing and spreads Valentine’s Day out across the month, instead of focusing on the one day.
There are many ways to craft your offer.
For Restaurants it’s often bundled with a meal – allowing you to set a higher price therefore increasing your transaction size:
- A Choice Of An Appetizer Or Dessert, 2 Entrees, And A FREE Pearl Necklace For $34.99
- A FREE Swarovski Necklace with The Purchase of An Entree.
- A FREE 18” Heart Necklace (Valued At $60.00) With A Purchase Of $30.00 Or More
Auto Repair Shop offer suggestions – because who wouldn’t love a gift after visiting the repair shop!
- A FREE 18” Heart Necklace With The Purchase of An Oil Change
- A FREE Pearl Necklace (Valued At $60.00) With Service Of $150.00 Or More
- A FREE Swarovski Necklace With Your Next Service
Retailers can get in the game too – a gift with purchase or part of a bundle of products – you decide what works best.
- A FREE Swarovski Tennis Bracelet With The Purchase of X
- A FREE Swarovski Necklace With A Minimum Purchase Of $100.00 Or More
The necklaces can be found for less than $5-$10 each (we provide a list of suppliers to our Royalty Rewards® merchants) and are of a great quality.
You will reap the rewards when you give away tangible gifts. Some of the results from last year:
Restaurant (and it’s not fine dining): $17,277.54 in sales, $29 to 1 ROI
Retail (Sew n’ Vac): $32,171.66 in sales, $54 to 1 ROI
Automotive: $32,780.70 in sales, $227 to 1 ROI
Marketing That Works Needs Creativity
Spread some love in February. Differentiate. Don’t do what your competition is doing – stand out from the crowd and your customers will respond.
Get creative – combine tactical offer planning with knowledge of consumer behavior patterns so you can develop successful marketing campaigns that will delighting your customers!
By utilizing event-driven marketing campaigns during special occasions like these, you can boost customer engagement by tapping into their emotions and interests on a deeper level and create sales in your business. If you want done for you marketing that works, book a call by clicking the button below and see what we can do for you!
Ring In The New Year With A Plan
The benefits of planning ahead are clear: increased revenues, better customer service, improved productivity, less stress, more time off – the list goes on! By taking the time to create a comprehensive plan, you ensure that you have all the tools necessary for a successful and profitable New Year.
Choosing A Loyalty Program
Learn what makes customers stay loyal, how to pick a program with the right features, and how to give your business that extra edge.
Are You Leading the Way… or Just Catching Up?
Imagine you’re at the start of a race. You’ve trained, mapped out the course, and can practically see the finish line. You start strong, you’re ready, and you’re in control. Now picture jumping into a race without any training or map. You might catch up, you might miss a few turns in the road, and each step feels like a scramble to keep pace.
This is exactly how marketing can feel when you’re either taking action with a clear plan—or just reacting to whatever happens.
