Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and that’s great news for eCommerce retailers. Since Cyber Monday, eCommerce spending has been on the rise and Cupid’s favorite day of the year presents more opportunities to capitalize on revenue and really embrace February 14th with an open heart.
The springbots put together a list of 14 Valentine’s Day eCommerce marketing tactics that will help your store steer clear of disappointing sales that leave you with a heavy heart. Now that’s amour!
1. Appreciate Your Best Customers. Show your customers a little love on February 14 by offering them an exclusive deal…They will simply love the sentiment and appreciate your thoughtfulness.
2. Email the Sexes. Use email to promote gift ideas and remind your customers that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! Try running an email campaign that is segmented by gender. You’ll get a lot more shopping cart love.
3. Turn Secret Admirers into Loving Advocates. Valentine’s Day is a great way to get your customers to share their love of your store in a very public way. Encourage them to write product reviews and express (in a not-so-secret manner) what it is about your store (and products) they love so much.
4. Convert Blog Readers Into Holiday Shoppers. Your blog is more than just an opportunity for you to share content. It’s a channel for you to celebrate what’s going on with your store and your products. Use your blog to share gift ideas in a fun and unique way. You can even do a Valentine’s Day gift giving blog series that mimics your gender specific email campaign.
5. Show Everyone Love. Even the Procrastinators. Promote last minute gift ideas to customers that have not yet made a purchase. Offer them a great deal on expedited shipping.
6. Gift Giving Made Easy. Your customers will really love you (and your store) if you make finding the perfect gift easy. Create a Valentine gift giving page that is easily sortable by gender, category and price.
7. Offer Guaranteed Shipping. Valentine’s Day is February 14. Not February 15. Promote your guaranteed shipping promise all over your site, emails, newsletters, Facebook, Twitter and also during the checkout process. If you are offering overnight shipping then promote that. The procrastinators will love you even more.
8. Offer Free Gift Wrapping from Cupid. We suggest you offer and PROMOTE free gift wrapping. And whether or not you choose to have an employee dress like Cupid while wrapping gifts is up to you. Either way, customers will appreciate the extra love.
9. Show Your Store’s Romantic Side. Show your eCommerce store love and update your homepage with hearts, cupids and flowers. You can really show your romantic side by writing lovingly unique product descriptions, romancing your logo and even decorating your overall site.
10. Remember that Customers Love Service. There is no better way to show love than with great customer service. It is the single best way to influence purchasing decisions and guarantee repeat purchases. Give your customers love by offering them help in choosing the best gift for their loved ones.
11. Offer Gift Receipts with Detailed Return Information. Let’s face it, even though your customer service team is there to offer your customers help in choosing the best gift, they might still stumble. You’ll make customers love you more by offering gift receipts with an easy return process. Also, this is a great time to make sure your return policy is very visible on your site.
12. Social Love is the Best Kind of Love. Social is one of our favorite marketing mediums! Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more are perfect outlets to capitalize on Valentine’s Day trends. Use a hashtag in your Tweets or post relevant pictures showing your customer love.
13. Discounts and Sales Equal Love. Running a sale or special promotion during Valentine’s Day will show your customers that you love them and help you stand out from your competitors. A great idea that will ensure repeat buyers is to offer anyone that makes a purchase before and on Valentine’s Day a gift card for a future purchase.
14. Post Valentine’s Day Love. Encourage your customers to show their loved ones love all year long – not just on Valentine’s Day. Make Cupid proud and run a post Valentine’s Day promotion. You can choose to offer this to all your customers or segment based on customers who did not purchase during Valentine’s Day.