The season of love is once again upon us and with it the unlimited celebratory opportunities it presents. Valentine’s Day is one of the busiest holidays of the year. In fact, from a business perspective, Valentine’s Day sales reached an all-time high of $20.7 billion in 2019. Whether you’re a florist, chocolatier or jewelry maker, a local rotary chapter, high school cheerleading group or Cub Scout troop, it’s an excellent opportunity to increase sales, boost morale and bring new customers & members to your store or group.
Valentine’s Day represents different things for different people. For some, it’s a day to go completely over the top to show your better half affection and appreciation. For others it’s an unfortunate day to be around lovely couples while buying flowers for your mother (your true Valentine). Point is, no matter the scenario, for businesses customers will be coming into your store to purchase something, and herein lies your opportunity to launch some quick holiday marketing campaigns and get your store up and ready for the day of love. For special interest groups it’s an opportunity to celebrate your membership, their families and your group as a whole.
Love Business 101: Find A Valentine’s Day Angle for Your Merchandise
No matter what you’re selling, find ways to infuse your products with the spirit of love. Your products might not be the typical stuff of Valentine’s Day but to capitalize on the holiday, you need to market them as such. You can create a corner, for instance, decorated with custom banners saying “Say I Love You with Not-So-Typical Valentine’s Day Gifts”.
For example: consider BirchboxMan. Rather than trying to sell “typical” V-Day gifts, the company is positioning their product as a unique and non-cliche gift, using the slogan “Better than Melted Chocolate.” Another great example is Apple’s V-Day campaign. While electronics aren’t inherently romantic, Apple made it work by highlighting the many ways that their products can make your loved ones smile. You can do the same in your store by using custom signs and banners placed strategically around your store to communicate your clever ideas with your customers.
Encourage Singles to Treat Themselves
If you don’t sell the typical romantic, gift-centric items, self-love is an excellent theme for the holiday. Dress your store in a Valentine’s Day message for treating themselves right. Give your membership the gift of quotes or a special get-together for single members. Encourage everyone to buy gifts for themselves to give themselves that well-deserved treat. Stores can place a flag outside the store saying Treat Yourself and place some custom banners and/or stickers around your store clearly stating your theme and the message of self-love.
Send Valentine’s Day Stickers & Cards
Yes, it may sound like a throwback to the playground, but sending your customers or group members physical cards or shareable stickers is a great way to show you care. As most everyone spends their efforts predominantly on digital platforms these days, going back to the more traditional marketing techniques will actually help you stand out from the crowd while also added a special, personal touch.
While individuals may be tired of receiving emails, physical cards or custom stickers that they can share with loved ones is a great idea to build or deepen relationships. Focus on telling them how much they mean to you by including a special note or, for businesses, offers or discounts to compliment your message & bring in sales.
Promote Valentine’s Day as an Experience
If you run a business that offers services instead of products, such as a spa or salon, for instance, you can focus on promoting Valentine’s day as an experience. Consider running 2-for-1 Deals for your services on V-day. Put custom signs both in-store and outside to let customers know about all these special offers. After the service, you can also give your customers some personalized stickers for valentine’s day to increase awareness of your brand.
Special interest groups can arrange fun group activities. A neighborhood pub crawl, restaurant tasting tour or an old-school sock hop are all fun and eventful evenings for everyone involved. Encourage + 2’s to both broaden the group and perhaps make a love connection or two.
Create A Prominent Feature Area
Grab all of your Valentine’s Day products: teddy bears, flower selection, card stands, prosecco, and group it into one main area. Make it stand out by using banners & signs with big red hearts. In case there are a few customers who forgot to get their V-day gifts, they’ll be able to see your Valentine’s selection straight away when they rush into your store and pick out the perfect gift with little time to spare.
Your interest group can send out flyers and other marketing materials in advance of your event. Well-placed yard signs and outdoor banners are also great ways to keep your event top-of-mind as well as piquing the interest of the general public, perhaps offering opportunities to build up your membership.
Show Some Love to the Singles
Valentine’s day is usually divided between two types of audiences: one that is in a relationship and wants to go all out to show their love to their better half and another who is single and practically dreads the day. It’s essential to keep both these audiences in mind while decorating your store or planning your event.
In addition to addressing couples, send some love to your single customers as well. Offer special deals for singles if you can, focus on deals that apply to everyone – no matter his/her relationship status. Have your event +2, +3, +as many as you want to increase the mingling and potentially swell your ranks.
Set up a custom canopy tent outside or in a dedicated corner for singles. Whether it’s gifts, giveaways, or special drawings, focusing on singles is a great way to make them feel important. You can also promote the theme of #SelfLove here as well.
Don’t Forget About People’s Pets –
In 2020, a lot of the revenue that came in on Valentine’s Day was driven by consumers purchasing gifts for their pets. According to the NRF:
In 2020, 27% of those celebrating say they are buying gifts for their pets, up from 17% in 2010. At the same time, expected spending on pet gifts has grown exponentially, from just $450 million to more than $1.7 billion during that same time period. Surprisingly, the trend is not just being driven by younger consumers like millennials and Gen Z; spending on gifts for pets has grown among all shoppers under the age of 55.
This trend will likely continue in 2021 and beyond. Due to the pandemic, 2020 saw significant growth in pet ownership, so we can expect more consumers to engage in gift-buying for their furry friends. Make sure your store & products are pet friendly. Get some banners & signs to display this message and position yourself as a pet-friendly brand.
Schedule a walk the dog or take your dog to the park event to get your pet-loving membership out and about with their goofy hairy friends. There’s no better way to bond than over the shared love of the family pet.
Final Thoughts
Holidays give marketers the opportunity to play off of popular topics and create messages that resonate with the masses. On Valentine’s Day, finding the perfect gift can be overwhelming and that’s why you, as a store, must provide the best possible service for this special occasion. Build on the ideas given above and get ready to leverage the holiday traffic.
Resources:
How Small Businesses Prepare for Valentine’s Day
https://www.mageplaza.com/blog/how-small-businesses-prepare-for-valentine-s-day.html
Valentine’s Day Celebrants Spend More in 2020
14 Valentine’s Day Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses
https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/14-valentines-day-marketing-ideas-for-small-businesses
3 Ways Retailers Can Prepare For Valentine’s Day
https://www.omniaretail.com/blog/3-ways-retailers-can-prepare-for-valentines-day
3 Tips To Boost Your Business This Valentine’s Day
https://www.smallbusiness.wa.gov.au/blog/3-tips-boost-your-business-valentines-day
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