Mother’s Day has always been a key sales event on the retail calendar, and simply being in the middle of the coronavirus lockdown shouldn’t prevent retailers from capitalising on the celebration – a little creativity is just required.
Adapting to the new coronavirus normal
Mother’s Day has often been big business for small businesses. In fact, the average consumer spends almost $80 on a Mother’s Day gift.
With coronavirus shutdowns changing the small business landscape in Australia, and closures and dwindling foot traffic upending many marketing plans, Mother’s Day is still an opportunity for many small businesses.
With many of the nation’s mums juggling working from home and home-schooling kids, they’ve also never been more deserving of a good old-fashioned spoiling.
Choose your marketing channel
Jo Cozens, Director of Sunshine Coast marketing agency Hey Jo, says there are a number of channels that retailers can still use to take full advantage of the Mother’s Day sales and reap rewards, despite the coronavirus limitations. These include:
- Organic and paid social media posts. If you’re using Instagram, research your hashtags and think about collaborating with similar businesses.
- Your website – use a temporary Mother’s Day theme, write a blog and put your offer on the home page so it won’t be missed.
- An email campaign or enewsletter to advertise discounts or special offers.
- Digital ads and banners on websites where your target audience might be.
- Text message campaigns if you’ve got a strong database.
- Incentives to encourage word of mouth from your existing database, e.g. 10% off your next online purchase with any referral.
And don’t rule out channels that are more likely to reach men, Cozens says. “It’s often the husbands or fathers who are doing the actual purchasing when Mother’s Day sales roll around. With the right marketing, you can make it easy for dads to make their decision.”
Craft a very special Mother’s Day product
If you make and sell your own products, you could release a seasonal product. For example, last year, the bath-bomb and soap retailer Lush released a Mother’s Day-inspired bath bomb called ‘Incredible Mum’. The pink-and-purple bath bomb sported a cape and mask, ‘for your Super Mum’.
Get creative
Cozens says you don’t have to have a lot of money, sometimes you just have to be creative. “Do you offer a quirky or unique product or service or is there a creative or humorous way you can market to grab people’s attention? And it’s not all about selling products. You can use clever thinking to build your brand as well.”
Don’t let people forget about Mother’s Day
While foot traffic is down with people instructed to stay home, if your business offers an essential service, like a supermarket, pharmacy or pet store, Cozens says some old-school marketing methods are still highly effective and they won’t break the bank.
“By decorating your store in a Mother’s Day theme, you can attract people in the doors who are specifically looking for Mother’s Day gifts [while they are out doing essential shopping]. And put your best-sellers right up front where they can’t be missed,” she says.
