Six unmissable marketing dates for your 2023 diary
One of the best ways to grow sales and build customer loyalty is by targeting your promotional offers to key dates throughout the year. These unmissable dates are a great opportunity to increase clicks and footfall. Refreshing your product mix, displays and advertising around these special days lets consumers know there’s always something new and exciting on offer when they choose to engage with your brand.Read on and discover practical tips for targeting consumers and increasing margins on six unmissable marketing dates for 2023.
Capture hearts and wallets: Valentine’s Day (February 14th)
Help your customers show the love this Valentine's Day. Get people into the spirit with fun and eye-catching displays. Capitalise on the occasion by offering special deals on gifts or romantic experiences. Stock up on plenty of traditional Valentine’s Day products, but tempt consumers to spend more by thinking beyond the obvious flowers, chocolates and card purchases. Adding technology, clothing and personal care products to your online and in-store displays will help you increase basket size. For many this is not a day to spend a large amount, so make sure you include some low-cost items in the mix. Consider how you might make your Valentine’s Day promotion more inclusive. Friendship groups are increasingly enjoying variations on the theme. Galantines celebrations are on the rise, creating opportunities for broader audiences to celebrate friendship and love. Start running your promotion about a week before Valentine’s Day and don’t forget to show your own Valentine some love.
The mother of all promotions: Mother’s Day (May 8th)
Mother's Day is a time to celebrate the most important women in our lives. With customers looking for ways to show their appreciation and love, you can take advantage of this holiday by offering special deals on gifts, experiences, and services. Set yourself apart with gift guides, product personalisation or free postage. Boost customer engagement through your social channels and email. You won’t be the only one running a Mother’s Day promotion, so make sure what you do stands out from the crowd. You can do this by ensuring that whatever you create feels authentic to you. If you’re an environmentally friendly brand, make sure your promotions reflect that. Eschew plastic tat and promote something enduring, with a low carbon footprint. Holding a successful promotion is a lot of hard work. So, make sure you have the energy to do it well.
Top tip: Always be sensitive to the fact that families come in all shapes and sizes.
April holidays
Not every customer will be celebrating the same holiday or tradition this April. In 2023, Ramadan, Peasach and Easter are all happening in April. For some customers it’s all about Easter egg hunts and chocolate. For others it’s a time or fasting and reflection. And for many it’s just a time for families to come together and celebrate new beginnings. As a small business owner, understanding the geographical region you find yourself in and the needs of your customers will help you find the perfect way to help people celebrate. Over £415 million is projected to be spent on Easter eggs, with over 80 million Easter eggs sold in the UK each year.1 For many Germans, on the other hand, the focus is on egg painting. And in Spain a whole week is devoted to celebrating Semana Santa.
Use social media, email marketing, and in-store promotions to showcase your offerings and attract customers looking for fun ways to celebrate the holidays.
Show your customers you care: Earth Day (22 April)
Earth Day is a time to celebrate and protect our planet. As a small business owner, you can take advantage of this holiday by offering special deals on eco-friendly products and services. Focus on building displays and promoting products that are genuinely kind to the Earth. Avoid obvious pitfalls like packaging environmentally friendly products in plastics. You can also create Earth Day content showing customers how using your products could help them save energy and water. Showcase your commitment to the environment on your social channels to attract customers who are looking for sustainable options.Go the extra mile and see if there are any permanent changes you could make to lower your business’s carbon footprint in 2023 and beyond.
Summertime and the living is easy: First Day of Summer (1 May)
The summer months are a time for families to take a break and enjoy the warm weather. As a small business owner, you can take advantage of this by offering special deals on outdoor activities, vacations, and products. However, with the focus on outdoor living, customers tend to spend less time looking at screens and more time outdoors and socialising. This can mean online sales take a hit. All the same, with an ROI of 36:1 using email to target audiences by highlighting summer give-aways is still likely to pay off.2 But don’t overlook user-generated content. It’s a powerful influencer of buying behaviours and a great way to build engagement on your social channels.
Summer is the time to go big, showcase your offerings and target new and existing customers, by creating some enticing offers and promotions.
Say it with Pride: June is Pride month
Pride is a time for the LGBTQIA+ community to celebrate and show their support for equality and acceptance. As a small business owner, you can play your part in the celebrations by offering special Pride-themed deals and promoting your support for the LGBTQ+ community. Make sure that your promotions support LGBTQIA+ art and culture. Think beyond profit margins though. Focus on building customer loyalty by ensuring you’re a truly inclusive business. Educate yourself and your staff. Better yet, attend a Pride parade as a team. Or consider donating a portion of your profits to an LGBTQIA+ organization.
Onward and upward
When it comes to grabbing shoppers’ attention in 2023, remember to do your research, focus on what will appeal to your customers and structure promotions in a way that works for your brand and the causes or issues you care about.
1Source: https://www.finder.com/uk/easter-spending-statistics
2Source https://www.litmus.com/resources/email-marketing-roi/
