7 Ways to Target Last-minute Mother’s Day Shoppers and Boost Sales
Mother’s Day is coming and with it another opportunity to authentically reach out to your potential clients. Perhaps you are looking at the calendar and thinking that it’s too late to start a campaign, but now is actually the perfect time to target those last minute Mother’s Day shoppers who will appreciate the chance to remember their moms.
Remarkably, Mother’s Day surpasses even Valentine’s Day with regard to spending. It is indeed an opportunity that should not be ignored. So even if you haven’t had a strategy in place since Christmas to capitalize on this holiday, there are still ways that you can put yourself front and center with your audience and get your share of the $21.4 billion being spent in the US alone for this holiday.
Here are a few ideas you can implement that can help you boost your earnings and take advantage of the tradition of gift giving on Mother’s Day.
1. Engage your target audience
Be authentic. Tell a story. Use hashtags to start a conversation. Ask for input. Social media is at its best when it’s social, when it draws people in and gets them involved. Share stories of when you remembered to say thank you and it changed someone’s day/month/year. Connect it to Mother’s Day – and the importance of taking a moment to thank the ones who are there for us. Or share how you almost forgot to bring your mom a gift – but luckily remembered with enough time to pick up her favorite cookies – and how her smile made your day. Create a hashtag campaign like #lateshoppersdoitbetter or #shoppingformom. These can make your audience smile, relate…and engage with you.
2. Make it special
Take a good look at your current offering. Is there a way you can rebrand or repackage exactly what you have to serve a mother’s day audience? Take for example, this Etsy store: they took some of their regular products, put it in a lovely little box and added a generic “Happy Mother’s Day” sticker to create their “Mother’s Day Package.”
Misty Organics adds a branded Mother’s Day sticker to their packaging
How can you do something similar with your products? For example, you can bundle a few lotions and toiletry items in stunning packaging and call it “Mother’s Care Package” or maybe you can group some gorgeous totes of all sizes and sell them as “Mothers On The Go.”
Or you can re-label your going out-on-the-town dress page as “Mom’s Night Out.”
If you are a service provider, package your offering as a gift for mom. A coaching session to help moms focus on themselves; a skincare makeover – for fun and pampering; a massage – because your mom deserves it. Using social media to remind your audience that your service would make the perfect gift can convince last minute shoppers to spoil their moms with what you have to offer!
3. Mom-optimized SEO – not only for your homepage
Not everyone will reach your site through your homepage or through a dedicated Mother’s Day page that you set up. Remember to optimize for Mother’s Day throughout your site, or where applicable, so your guests can reach you through a variety of Mother’s Day searches and will be reminded of the big day – regardless of what page they initially visit. So, place Mother’s Day keywords on product pages where you know guests are likely to visit.
4. Go beyond American borders
There are an estimated 8-9 million non-military Americans living abroad. That’s about 8-9 million people (plus a whole lot of military folk) who may really appreciate the opportunity to tell the woman who gave them life that she is deeply loved by sending her a little something for Mother’s Day. Reach out to them through social media advertising and other targeted campaigns. To Americans, Mother’s Day is an actual holiday so even if you are not used to this concept in your country, understand that Americans generally welcome the opportunity to remember their mom on this day.
While Americans mark Mother’s Day in May, many countries around the world have alternate dates to honor their moms. Let Google direct you to Mother’s Day dates in other countries so you can remember to advise them of your offerings in time for their holiday. Residents of countries without official Mother’s Day may like the tradition and choose to adopt it by remembering their own mothers in May. Let them know about the holiday with some cute anecdotes! You can direct a social media campaign towards countries where no Mother’s Day is a thing by asking for stories how people thank their moms. It can be a heartwarming brand builder that may also lead to sales.
5. Don’t forget Auntie and Grandma
Remind your audience that it takes a village. There are a lot of awesome women who have been there for them during significant times of their lives, who would genuinely appreciate being remembered on this holiday. In some cases, receiving a gift can be even more meaningful for women who don’t expect to be remembered. Communicate ideas for honoring these women of valor through your various social media channels. You can even dedicate Grandma Packages or Auntie Packages (see number 2) so that your audience can just pick a package to honor their beloved mamas’ helpers.
6. Make it work for the latecomers
Create promotions that are tailored to the needs of the people who woke up a few days before the big day: free 2-day shipping, a 10 percent discount – whatever you think may drive additional traffic and encourage your audience to come to you for their gift needs. Offer gift wrapping – either for free or at an additional cost, so that the latecomers can have the gift delivered directly. Providing services like these that are specific to late gift buyers will help them see your site as a real solution for all their needs.
7. Make it work for the latecomers
Often, when we operate our businesses we think of our profit. That is only natural. But, businesses are often most successful when focused on serving. As a business, you are providing a service to busy people when you give them the opportunity to celebrate their moms, especially so close to the date. So, when planning your marketing – think about which of your clients you can help, contemplate how you can be of service. For example, moms of young children may not have the time to remember their own mothers on this special day. Create the perfect Grandmother Bouquet with an attached poem so a harried mom can tell her own mother how much she appreciates all she learned from her example. Or prepare an Out-Of-The-Box Gift List for that executive daughter who doesn’t have time to visit stores; she can look through the list on the plane to her next destination and select the perfect gift for her quirky mom.
Mother’s Day is one of the year’s greatest sales opportunities. Putting in a little extra effort now holds the possibility of bringing you significant results – while generating smiles on the faces of all the moms and children basking in the wonderful vibes from the amazing gifts that you have provided.