Valentine’s Day Marketing that Your Customers will Love
Love is in the air as Valentine’s Day draws near! According to the National Retail Federation,U.S. consumers have spent over $18 billion over the last four years on jewelry, an evening out, flowers, candy and clothing for the holiday.1 To win your customers’ love (and dollars), you need to develop Valentine’s Day promotion ideas that stand out from the competition. Here are some key elements to a consider for a strong Valentine’s Day marketing campaign:
Choosing A Unique Valentine’s Day Marketing Theme
At the basis of every great marketing campaign is a strong communication strategy. When developing your Valentine’s Day marketing, you want to think about the way in which you are selling your products. Here are a few ideas for developing a unique theme for your own campaign:
- Valentine’s Day Marketing Slogans
When creating your Valentine’s Day marketing slogan, you want to try to choose something that plays off of your product or store name. As you develop your plan, you can have some fun with a witty and fun slogan that’s designed to grab your customers’ attention while also conveying what you are offering. For example, if you are a restaurant, you can use a slogan like, Drink and Dine with Your Valentine. - Valentine’s Day Sale Names
If you are hosting a sale for Valentine’s Day, it is important to think about how you refer to your sale. Although your overarching campaign can be “Valentine’s Day Sale,” there may be unique hashtags or email subject lines that you can create to more effectively appeal to your customers. Hallmark ran a campaign in 2015 during which they encouraged people to describe how they feel about their significant other without using the word “love.” They called this campaign Put Your Heart to Paper, and they used a corresponding hashtag to gain traction on Twitter.
Creating Valentine’s Day Marketing Campaigns
Once you develop your core campaign messaging, it is time to think about a unique campaign for your Valentine’s Day marketing. Consider these types of campaigns:
- Giveaway
Valentine’s Day provides a great opportunity to give away a gift to one lucky customer or prospect. The greatest benefit of a giveaway campaign is the ability to collect information about your customers and prospects. When individuals enter your giveaway, make sure to collect their email addresses so you can continue making touches after the giveaway is complete. You will want to develop Valentine’s Day social media campaigns that promote the giveaway and encourage participation. - Hot Deals
You should make your Valentine’s Day marketing so appealing that it’s love at first sight for your consumers: offer them a great deal that they just can’t resist. Many stores offer coupons for a percentage off of their products or services or a bonus gift card or store credit for a purchase over a specified dollar amount.
Selling Common Gifts with a Lovely Twist
For B2C businesses that offer traditional Valentine’s Day products or services, try putting a lovely twist on your common gift. When developing your Valentine’s Day marketing plan, think about how you can go the extra mile for your customers to make their day special. Here are a few ideas for restaurants, jewelry stores and retail locations that are preparing for the February holiday:
- Themed Menu
Valentine’s Day is a strong sales day for those in the hospitality industry, with many couples spending quality time together over a meal. When considering Valentine’s Day promotion ideas for a restaurant, you want to think about how you can step up the romance for your patrons. Consider a special Valentine’s Day-themed menu with love-inspired garnishes and a variety of desserts with a Valentine’s Day staple, chocolate. - Girls Night Out
One of the many challenges that customers face at jewelry stores is not knowing what their significant other would really want. One Valentine’s Day retail promotion idea that helps your customers overcome this challenge is to host a Girls Night Out prior to Valentine’s Day. During Girls Night Out, your customers can visit with friends while enjoying refreshments and building their wish list so their significant other knows exactly what to look for this Valentine’s Day. - Gift Bags and Baskets
To elevate the reach of your Valentine’s Day marketing, consider running a cross-marketing campaign with another local business and offering both of your customers a gift bag or basket of products. Together with a strategic partner, you can offer a selection of gifts in a bag or basket so shoppers can purchase the perfect combination of presents for Valentine’s Day. Cross-marketing campaigns can help broaden your businesses reach by using both your audience and your strategic partner’s audience to generate profits.
We hope you fell in love with at least one of these Valentine’s Day marketing campaigns. Once you determine what type of campaign you want to run, start working on your marketing strategy and develop a detailed plan for how you will execute it. If you have questions on how to develop your upcoming marketing campaigns, contact us today to schedule a consultation.
1. National Retail Federation: https://nrf.com/research-insights/holiday-data-and-trends/valentines-day
About the Author
Kaitlyn Wilcoxson, Account Group Supervisor, is a data-driven, problem-solving marketing guru who, as one of the firm’s longest employees, has worked with almost every client Paradigm has ever partnered with, and has been instrumental in their success. Kaitlyn ensures Paradigm’s clients and internal teams are positioned for growth. She manages resources, develops team members, monitors the quality of deliverables, and manages process and procedure planning. She was awarded the Gold Level Stevie® Award for Customer Service and Sales Manager of the Year in the 17th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.
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