Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching, and whether you personally view it as the most romantic day of the year, filled with love and hope, or an annual ordeal splashed with tacky red and pink décor, there’s no question it can have a positive effect on many small businesses.
One of the best ways to take advantage of this potential bump in profitability is through email marketing. Email is a very effective way to bring highly tailored messages to specific audiences. And since many people are prone to read into the gifts they receive from significant or semisignificant others, it gives you an opportunity to use Cupid’s arrow to target your customers and prospects in order to move them to action.
The following are 12 things you should do to make sure your Valentine’s Day doesn’t pass with a lot of empty promises and wilted dreams.
1. Start now (if you haven't already). It’s only a few weeks until the big day, so start compiling your copy, imagery, offers, etc. You don’t want to inundate your recipients by email, but a rough schedule could entail:
a. email 1: Friday, Jan. 29: initial offer
b. email 2: Wednesday, Feb. 3: offer reminder
c. email 3: Thursday, Feb. 11: reminder two — “Three days left till Valentine’s Day!”
d. email 4: Wednesday, Feb. 17: thank-you follow-up email to all customers who took advantage of the offer. Say thank you, and extend another offer to these loyal customers.
2. Use a Valentine’s Day template. This template works best with a nice balance of Valentine-specific copy and imagery to get people in the mood and thinking about the event.
3. Segment your list. Split your list by gender; send female-oriented offers to guys and male-oriented offers to ladies. But think about your audience before doing this sort of segmentation! Your offer may not be appropriate for all audiences.
4. Have a compelling offer. Most people are still paying off their bills from the holiday season, so make sure the offer is affordable and compelling enough to encourage them to act.
5. Partner with companies who offer complementary services or products for an offer that can’t be ignored. Spa services and floral shops (walk away from your spa treatment with a dozen red roses), for example. Also, restaurants and flower shops (have a bouquet of flowers ready at the table when you arrive); boutique hotels and highly recommended restaurants (get discounts at both places when you book a night and reservations for dinner). Get creative — the possibilities are endless.
6. Target a special email to people who bought from you last Valentine’s Day. Offer an even better deal for these loyal customers. If the offer is right, they'll most likely buy from you again.
7. Make it easy for people to take advantage of your offer. If consumers have to use the offer in a retail store, for example, give clear directions or a store-finder link. If the offer must be redeemed online, make the button or text link stand out in the email. Place it as close to the upper-left corner of the email as possible. Printable coupons or promo codes always work well, too.
8. Use testimonials and reviews. Most consumers will buy if they know if another person has had a positive buying experience with your product or service. Highlight great reviews and testimonials in your emails to bolster offers.
9. Offer Valentine’s ideas in your next newsletter. How many times have you wondered what you’re going to do for your sweetie on Valentine’s Day? Guys, in particular, often have a hard time coming up with ideas. Do the work for them by providing a list of the top 10 Valentine’s Day dates or gifts, for example.
10. Spread your message with forward-to-a-friend functionality. Encourage people to forward your offer on by including forward-to-a-friend links.
11. Use email to promote a special Valentine’s Day drawing to win a prize; then collect emails and grow your email subscriber list.
12. Send a "Happy Valentine’s Day" email postcard to show customer appreciation. Thank loyal customers by providing complimentary redeemable points (if you have a points program) or a free gift for Valentine’s Day. This supports customer retention.
The Valentine’s Day colors may officially be red and pink, but follow the tips above and you’re sure to be seeing green by the end of the day.
Wendy Lowe is the director of product marketing for Campaigner, an Ottawa-based email marketing solutions provider. Campaigner is part of a software as a service business communications offered by Protus. Reach Wendy at wlowe@protus.com.
Thanks Wendy for the great tips! I appreciate the suggestions of spli tting the list to target customers differently.Do you have an email service that you particularly like? Have you used MailChimp?