If you run an online store you can do some creative promotions during gift-giving holidays. Today I am going to show you how to target the procrastinators and the forgetful ones.
Last month I showed you how to run a late Mother’s Day sale. This month it’s Father’s Day. To re-iterate, your aim is to sell to those who forgot Father’s Day.
Let’s go:
- Time: 1 -2 hours
- Ingredients: (a) 6-7 products perfect for Father’s Day, (b) promotion platform(s) (email, social media etc.)
Step 1:
The first and most important step: pick your target market. You’re going to promote to those who forgot Father’s Day, but drill deeper down.
Take a moment, close your eyes, and put yourself in the shoes of the person who forgot Father’s Day. What age is this person most likely to be? Where do they work? Are they still in school? How do they feel once they realize they forgot Father’s Day?
For instance, you could target urban young people between the ages of 25-35. The assumption being made here is this: this demographic would have busy lives with demanding jobs and an active social life and as such a higher probability of forgetting Father’s Day.
Keep this at the forefront of your mind as you design your Father’s Day for the forgetful promotion.
Step 2:
Make it easy on your clientele while they shop your online store. Create a Father’s Day gift guide. Create a temporary separate page on your website and/or a catalog with 6-7 Father’s Day products. If you sell exclusively on Etsy or Storenvy, you can edit the name of your products.
For example:
Father’s Day Scarf, Blue and Green handmade 100% wool scarf for dad
Ashley from BowandArrowArt on Etsy (and a Now In Store user!) does exactly this. She spotlights her products perfectly for Father’s Day:
Step 3:
Decide on a few additional offerings for an extra charge. For example: include a personalized card, ship directly to dad, wrap the gift, expedite the package, or all of the above.
Clearly indicate this offering on the top of the page on your website. Again, if you sell exclusively on Etsy or Storenvy, include it in your shop description.
Triumph and Disaster, an Apothecary & Skincare company for men spotlights free shipping on their Father’s Day promotion banner:
Step 4:
Choose a marketing strategy: email, social media (if you’ve successfully captured leads over social media in the past), or leverage your partnerships (I’ve written about this before: The Spring Sales Technique).
Step 5:
Decide on your messaging. Your messaging must tug tenderly on the heart strings making your prospective shopper feel a little guilty and simultaneously mitigating that feeling by offering a solution; your Father’s Day gift guide, of course.
Choose a headline.
For example:
Did you forget Father’s Day? This gift will make up for it.
How to make-up for forgetting dad this Father’s Day.
Forgot Father’s Day? We have you covered.
You’ll use this headline as your email subject line, Tweet, and/or a Facebook headline.
Step 6:
You can launch your promotion any time this weekend (June 14, 15) and run it till June 19th.
Boom you’re set. Launch and go.
—-
Did you miss our Feature Friday? Check out the best catalogs of the week now.
-Divya, with Now In Store
Divya is Head of Community at Now In Store , where she builds marketing strategies and authors content to help small businesses grow. She has been featured on the Crew Blog, Life Hacker, Thought Catalog, PsychCentral, and FastCompany.
