Valentines is a great opportunity to increase brand awareness and encourage sales and bookings here are some marketing ideas for every business type…

Whether you view Valentine’s Day as a romantic celebration of love and the perfect opportunity to express your feelings for your other half, or you think it’s a commercial event whereby any sense of meaning is killed by a sense of obligation, it is well and truly rooted in our culture (having been around since the 5th Century), it’s here to stay.

Love it or loathe it, here in the UK we will collectively spend £1.5 billion on Valentine’s Day. So, getting on board with Valentine’s Day marketing should be an opportunity you shouldn’t miss.

Valentine’s Day Promotions help boost your business

We all know that florists are probably the prime candidate for maximising their earnings from this day. However, there are plenty of other opportunities. If you are in hospitality forward planning your romantic valentine’s package is essential to maximising your earnings in this traditionally quiet period. Regardless of the business type, you can exploit this annual celebration like a chocolatier packaging their goodies in suitable red heart-adorned boxes.

Whether you wish to promote a product or service, or both, you can align this to Valentine’s Day theme by simply telling your customers you want to ‘show them a little love this Valentine’s Day’ with an offer on products and/or services.

A passionate approach doesn’t have to be between the customer and their respective other, it can be a nice gesture from you to them, keeping it professional and in line with your business messages.

It’s a great opportunity to promote couples’ packages for your services, whether it’s a couple’s massage, couples gym membership, Personal Trainer package or a 2-4-1 offer on a service you offer.

You might consider posting a small gift voucher to existing clients as a thank-you for their loyalty. Direct Mail marketing is very personal and connects your customer with you in a different way than online marketing. Something like a simple money-off voucher can encourage bookings during quiet winter months. Just make sure you specify if the voucher is to be redeemed by a certain time or whether there is a minimum spend. And remember, customers will almost always spend more than the value of the voucher, so you can see a big profit from a small gesture.

Need ideas for Valentine’s Day marketing?

You may feel that Valentine’s Day is corny to implement into your marketing strategy. However, where there’s a will there’s a way! It doesn’t matter what your business type is, being creative with Valentine’s Day marketing ideas and tweaking them to your business, you can get in on the action and capitalise on the 14th of February. Remember, marketing is about making a connection with your customers on a personal level, making them a mile and engage with you.

So, perhaps you own a dog grooming salon. The love that customers have for their dogs is just as real (and often as strong) as the love we have for our other halves, so why wouldn’t they want to show passion for their pup? Create a fun social media posting asking people to share stories about their pets and their first love, or in the lead up to Valentine’s Day ask your customers to send in pictures of their dogs tying in with a small prize draw for goodies will work as well. Great PR opportunity when they collect.

Traditionally, Valentine’s Day has been all about couples, pairs, and twosomes, so why not promote a buy-one-get-one-free, or buy-one-get-one-half-price offer for that special day of the week? Whether you sell building supplies or candles, an offer like this is super simple to implement and allows you to use Valentine’s Day as a marketing tool.

The loved link is an easy one to make as it’s not just people or pets that steal our hearts. It’s special places, hobbies, our homes and cars, and even food!

So, whether you work in travel or the trades, all you need to do is ask yourself ‘what matters to my customers? What do they love? What is their passion? Once you figure that out, creating a Valentine’s Day marketing campaign that comes from the heart, will be easy!

Valentine’s Day Marketing Ideas for the not-so-romantically attached. 

Heart-shaped paraphernalia and romantic declarations of love are not for everyone.  

You can still capitalise on the love-lust day by thinking outside the box with Valentine’s Day promotion ideas that celebrate the joy of the individual!

Make your customers indulge in self-care and celebrate the importance of loving the ‘one and only you’ or quote Rupaul “If you can’t love yourself then who can you love?”. So, self-care and self-love are just as important. Whether beauty treatments, new clothes or opportunities for self-improvement, they all fit.

How do I plan a budget for Valentine’s Day Marketing?

Depending upon business type, it can be simple gift voucher printing or, if Valentine’s Day is a holiday your industry tends to significantly benefit from (card/gift shops, hospitality/restaurants or spa/beauty), you may want to go all out with a campaign that takes a little more of your budgets, such as having special menus, small gift packages or stunning POS graphics. The beauty is – it’s an annual event, so carefully planned out their re-use potential is there, so almost future proof!

Now is such an important time for moderation, being flash doesn’t inspire so don’t get carried away, so ensure you consider your budget, and estimated return on investment. Make sure it is relevant events throughout the year. 

However, you engage or celebrate Valentine’s Day, whether you agree, disagree, like or dislike it, it presents a good opportunity to engage, and connect with your customers. Showing a little love goes a long way to building effective relationships and brand loyalty. After all, if your competitors are sharing the love, is it time you did?