Valentine’s Day is a goldmine for new customers, as people are more likely to make purchases based on product offerings rather than loyalty to a brand. This means you have to work extra hard to retain your current customer base while reaching out to new customers you can then turn into repeat shoppers after the holiday.
Valentine’s Day is lucrative: on average, consumers spend $116.21 each on Valentine’s Day, with the total spending at about $13.19 billion. It’s time to start thinking ahead about your Valentine’s Day marketing campaign for your eCommerce store, and because we love you, we’re giving you a gift of our own: 5 ways to your customers’ hearts this Valentine’s Day.
1. Write poetry.
How do you woo your beloved? Gifts are great, but poetry is the real way to charm. When it comes to your online business, great ad copy is just as good as poetry. This Valentine’s Day, get creative and look to language to help you market your products romantically. You may not be the next Shakespeare, but a little outside-of-the-box thinking can go a long way when whipping up great copy. Rather than sending out emails decorated with hearts and flowery language, be strategic and consider how you can frame your products to solve Valentine’s Day pain points.
Even if you don’t sell a traditional Valentine’s Day gift, like candy, flowers, or jewelry, you can still advertise your product as the perfect solution for your customers’ needs. A vacuum cleaner may not seem romantic, but advertised as the solution to live-in couples arguments over household chores, it starts to look pretty good. Take a look at Ikea’s Valentine’s Day ads, which manage to make furniture sexy.
2. Give a little more.
Bundling is a match made in heaven for holidays. Bundling gifts allows you to target customers who may not be sure about what present to give and increases order value while allowing customers to feel like they’re giving more.
Bundles also allow you to market products that may not specifically evoke romance so that customers are prompted to think about the whole offer rather than products as individual pieces.
Gift boxes allow you to dress a non-romantic gift up. For example, if you sell toiletries, packaging soaps together with candles and bath salts can easily make for a romantic kit.
Bundling can also appeal to male shoppers, who often have a solution-seeking mentality when shopping online. Market your bundles as the perfect present for someone who isn’t sure what to get, or use it to upsell shoppers who want an item by showing a discounted rate if they buy a bundle.
3. Be sensitive.
Even if you know your target audiences inside and out, things can get messy when it comes to their love lives. Not everyone is in a relationship on Valentine’s Day, but it definitely isn’t a holiday only for people in love.
Single people often get gifts for themselves, with 14% of women sending themselves flowers. Appeal to a wider group of shoppers by making sure you include everyone in your marketing. Whether it’s by acknowledging the singletons or same-sex couples, everyone will be happy to be included.
4. Don’t be late for the date.
Online businesses largely rely on email to send out marketing to dedicated customers. Ensure your holiday offers are still relevant when your customers open them. That means preparing early to account for the chance customers may not see your offer for awhile.
Hubspot studied over 6 million emails, and it found that only 50% were opened within 24 hours, but 80% were opened within 12 days. So, when it comes to email holiday marketing, it looks like the early bird really does get the worm.
To help you make sure your marketing is set up well in advance of Valentine’s Day, we’ve created a holiday marketing calendar for you.
Late January: Send your first email offer.
Monday, February 2nd: Announce Valentine’s Day specials.
Friday, February 6: Send a reminder to buy with a discount attached to drive conversions.
Monday, February 9: Announce last-minute rushed shipping specials targeted at those who haven’t yet purchased.
Friday, February 14: Offer an e-gift certificate as a gift that doesn’t require delivery.
5. Wrap it up.
Gift wrapping is a perfect way to add a special touch to an average present. Allow customers to personalize cards and choose their wrapping so they are able to put their own touch on their presents.
In addition to packaging your gifts perfectly, make sure you deliver…on time. The way to your customers’ hearts is by giving them the gifts they want, wrapped in the way they want, and delivered when they want them.
Be sure to prepare for deliveries to arrive well before February 14, and consider offering delivery on Valentine’s Day if shoppers want to give a gift as a surprise.
Conclusion
It’s time to get in the spirit of love and begin thinking about your Valentine’s Day marketing. What are some tips you swear by for engaging customers during the holiday?
