Along with Christmas and Black Friday, Valentine’s Day is one of the most lucrative holidays for entrepreneurs and marketers. According to a recent survey by RetailMeNot.ca, this year, the average Canadian will spend $164 on their V-Day celebration.
In Canada there are 7,861,860 couples. And what do most couples do for Valentine’s Day? Statistics show that some couples treat themselves to a nice dinner, knock back a few glasses of wine, and see where the night takes them. While others prefer to buy jewellery, roses, or chocolates for their loved ones. The beauty of commercial holidays is that they are not only a gold mine for the retail and hospitality industries, they benefit an array of different industries
Why? The same reason Canada has adopted Black Friday, when we don’t even have the holiday to support it; society tells us we should do something, so we do. Valentine’s Day promotions can be a success for many different types of businesses. If you can find a way to use love to sell your products or services, why not give it a shot.
Don’t forget that you’re not only targeting couples, singles are people too. 😉 There are 11,784,855 singles here in Canada, and there are ways to appeal to them as well. No doubt your approach will need to be different, since they are not experiencing the holiday in the same light.
A lot of money will be rolling in the economy for Valentine’s Day, find out how to get yourself a piece of the pie.
Create something for everyone and segment your lists
Although the need to feel loved is universal, target markets vary from industry to industry. And even though all humans have the same basic need to feel loved, everyone experiences Valentine’s Day differently.
Cyberimpact allows you to segment basic demographics like age, and gender by collecting that information when they opt-in to your mailing list. That way you can create one campaign for each gender, as the message and offer will most likely be different.
Age is another very important factor when segmenting your lists for your Valentine’s Day email campaigns. A couple in their 50’s, and a couple in their 20’s will have a different perception on what constitutes a rocking V-Day celebration. (In most cases anyway, not everyone fits into a specific mold when it comes to gender and age)
Tug at their heartstrings
Anthropologically speaking, we were born to find a mate. That urge we choose to call “being in love” That’s why the celebration of love’s popularity doesn’t really come as a surprise. No matter who you are, you’ve either been in love, daydreamed about being in love, or you’ve seen what it’s “supposed to look like” on TV. Being in love is such a wonderful feeling isn’t it? Whether you’re in a new relationship, floating on a natural dopamine cloud or have been married for 20 years,Valentine’s Day is the time to take a moment to make your partner feel appreciated. Use this to your advantage when creating your campaign!
Singles on the other hand, are either full of hope that this will be the year they find their soulmate. Or, they could be boycotting that whole (insert eyeroll here) “celebrating love” thing. The good news is that if they are boycotting the holiday, chances are they will likely indulge in something else to keep themselves occupied. So either way an industry wins.
Bring humour into it
As clearly stated above, not everyone will be coupled up this Valentine’s Day. Having all been there at one time or another, we are all aware that being single on Valentine’s Day can be a little depressing. That’s why so many funny Valentine’s Day memes will be floating around social media very soon. People tend to use humour to make light of certain unpleasant situations. That’s why adding something a little comical addressed to them in your email campaign might be appreciated on their part.
Unfortunately, you can’t segregate your list by marital status, but you can certainly add a little one liner in there, to make them feel special. So when they are home alone eating greasy take-out, followed by a tub of ice-cream, while watching netflix, they will think of your business.
Make it worth their while
We’re talking love here people, it’s serious business. After all love does make the world go round; make them a serious offer worth looking into. Below is a list of excellent promotional idea:
Give them something for free (people tend to like the word free)
- Free shipping
- Free express shipping
- A free gift with purchase
- Add a coupon for their next purchase
Give them a discount
- Could be on this purchase
- Or on their next one. But again make it worth it.
Include a Valentine’s Day shopping list
- Suggest gift ideas. This will be well received, since most people don’t know what a Valentine’s Day gift should consist of. Doing this will also promote your products and services and increase sales.
Incorporate social media
- Plan a contest on social media (cutest couple selfie competition)
- Ask people to join your email list to enter a Valentine’s Day Giveaway contest
- Create your own Valentine’s Day Hashtag
- Share cute statistics, or unique gifts ideas. This will capture readers and increase engagement.
Add special promotions to the mix
- Offer a special promotion for couples who visit your store (make them kiss as a proof)
- Offer a promotion for singles, like we said, they’re people too. You could even host a party for singles and use email to send invites.
Find the optimal time
Your timing will be crucial. For Valentine’s Day campaigns, the week before is the most effective according to a retail email marketing summary found on OracleBlog.com. Two thirds of promotions were sent the week before the big day. The heaviest volume being on Feb 8th. Make sure to plan ahead.
Your clients will most likely be receiving a barrage of Valentine’s Day emails. If you want your email to stand out, make sure your content and subject line are relevant and on point.
Prepare your Valentine’s Day email campaign with Cyberimpact today
Comment below and share your favorite Valentine’s Day story!