Father’s Day is coming up in June (in the UK), so your business should start thinking about how to promote your website as the one-stop shop for this special day. In today’s blog, we’ll be looking at what your business can do to increase sales for this special day and make dad’s happy at the same time.
#1 Be aware of Father’s Day 2018 ahead of time
It might sound silly to remind you to remember Father’s Day. My point is to remind you that you need to be prepared well in advance. Just like with any other gift-buying holiday, you’ll need to start promoting it a few weeks before the big day. That means you need to make a plan and get everything ready at least a month ahead of time.
Depending on how deep you want to go, there could be quite a bit of work that needs to get done. Do you want to have a banner at the top of your homepage? Do you want to redesign the homepage entirely for the holiday? Are you going to build landing pages dedicated to Father’s Day? What about ads? Take those photos (or find those stock images). Get your designers ready. Book those ads.
Sure, it might seem obvious, but my point is not to wait for the last minute. Set reminders in your calendar for all those holidays at the beginning of the year and you’ll know when to start preparing in a timely manner!
#2 Create a gift guide
A gift guide can break down all the different types of dads there are, to make finding a gift easier for your customers. For example, is your dad an “athletic dad” or a “builder dad”? Is he a “dad-joke dad” or a “sports fan dad”? This idea isn’t necessarily unique to Father’s Day of course, but in my opinion, it might be best suited for dads for two reasons.
For starters, I always thought that my dad was more difficult to shop for than my mom. Mother’s Day is very special, but if I found myself procrastinating until the last day, I knew I could always get away with some flowers or chocolate. A gift guide can help shoppers buy gifts for their dads when they don’t know what to buy them. By helping your shoppers figure out what gift is best for dad, they’ll stay engaged and be more likely to find (and buy!) something that they think their father will like.
The second reason I think that a gift guide would be perfect for Father’s Day is that the role of a “typical dad” has changed dramatically in the last decade or so. It’s basically impossible to just have a “Dads” section. Being a stay-at-home dad is more common now than ever before. There are dads who love to cook. There are dads who love to garden. There are even dads who love to sew. Let’s not pretend all our dads are lumberjacks, coal miners and football fans.
#3 Bundle your “dad products”
Here’s a simple idea for a Father’s Day sale. Find those products that are attractive to dads and bundle them together for a discount. Once shoppers have figured out what “type” of dad they have, you’ll want to offer them the perfect gift.
However, the perfect “gift” might come in the plural form. Perhaps, children are combining their efforts to buy their dad a mega gift. Dad might even be buying some gifts for himself this year. Either way, offering bundles can be a great way to get promote your products on this holiday and a good way to clear out some extra inventory.
#4 Run a social media contest or giveaway
Well, depending on the dad, they may or may not be on social media. No problem either way. You’re targeting their kids and wives anyway, right?
You’ll have an endless amount of options when it comes to running a social media contest, but the basic idea is simple. Instead of simply giving away a discount, get your potential customers to engage with your brand a little. Build an emotional connection with them, and they’ll be more likely to return to your shop in the future.
This is also a great opportunity for you to show off a bit of your brand’s personality. If you ask for the best “dad-jokes” on Twitter, your followers can appreciate your sense of humour. If you ask for the best daddy-daughter pics, they can get a feeling for your sentimental side. Either way, you’re building a kind of relationship when you get your customers to engage with your brand on social media. Encourage them to share your post and get more exposure (and more participants).
Though the rules and prizes may vary, your goals will ultimately be the same: build brand loyalty and get more exposure.
#5 Use “classic” marketing techniques
No, I’m not talking about billboards and TV ads (though these might work for you as well). I was actually referring to some of the “classic” digital marketing techniques. Sure, it doesn’t sound as “sexy” as a social media contest, but e-mail marketing can be an incredibly successful tool for generating sales (and it’s also very inexpensive).
Google and Facebook ads will work wonders as well if you target the right people. You can also consider Twitter and Instagram as well. If you’re targeting wives, try Pinterest! Know your audience and know what social media platforms they use.
Another proven “marketing” technique is to have trust elements on your site. Having a third party seal of approval, such as the Trusted Shops trustmark, can really help shoppers trust a new website if they’ve never visited it before.
Similarly, product reviews can give site visitors peace of mind and social proof that they are getting their father a quality product. Naturally “trust building” is a tactic that can be incredibly useful for boosting conversions throughout the year.
Finally, you might also want to install an exit-intent pop-up on your site. In case you don’t know what that is, these are those small pop-ups that appear on a website right before you decide to “x” out of a page. As the user’s mouse move towards the top right corner of the web browser, a pop-up will appear offering bigger discounts or some other promotion. This can be the perfect tool to remind your visitors that Father’s Day is coming up and that they can get that product they were looking at for even cheaper than they had thought.
Conclusion
All in all, Father’s Day is a great time to promote your website. By offering good discounts and getting shoppers to engage with your brand, you’re building the base for a great customer relationship. This, in turn, can help build the customer loyalty that every business strives for!