I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Labor Day – and thus, the end of summer – is just around the corner. While we in Buffalo are especially sad to see the warm weather draw to a close and settle in for our typical six months of winter, Labor Day, doesn’t have to be a cooldown point for your business, however.
Labor Day is one of the top marketing occasions of the year, whether you have a brick and mortar location or sell products online only. The key is to make sure that you’re appealing to your customer base and audience in an engaging and attractive way that makes them want to buy.
As you gear up for the close of summer, here are a few tips to make your Labor Day marketing strategy more successful.
Start Planning Now
First and foremost, the key to anything Labor Day is to start planning early. It’s true of a Labor Day party or a Labor Day marketing campaign. Start strategizing now to determine the discounts you want to offer, the products or services you want to promote, and the networks you want to use to promote them. It’s like a game of “Clue,” but instead of Professor Plum in the Study with the Candlestick, you need to have a 10 percent discount on the candlesticks advertised in your emails.
This early planning for your marketing serves two purposes. First, it gives you ample time to prepare any marketing collateral – graphics, email templates, landing pages or any other digital materials you want to put together. Secondly, it allows you to plan out the timing of your campaign in advance. Are you going to send a teaser email, follow up with a Facebook post, and push a message on all your social and email channels on Labor Day? Or are you going to start your promotion early and open it up over a span of days, sending only an initial message and a “last chance” reminder? Start now, and you can plan ahead.
Promote it Prominently
Many consumers will be on the lookout for sales and discounts around Labor Day. It’s often one of the last days off for employees before the end of the year holiday season, and also serves as a final opportunity for the whole family to have a day off together before school begins again. That’s why it’s one of the top shopping dates before the November and December rush for many businesses.
Depending on what your products or services cover, Labor Day can be a great day for your business, but you need to make sure your prospective customers are queued in as well. For online businesses, make sure that you have a banner, large graphic or text notification on your website that is easy to see. Have a storefront? Place signage in your windows and, if you have a display area, showcase some of your sale items front and center to drive interest in advance.
Encourage People to Shop Local – Wherever Local Is
As WalletHub notes in its infographic on Labor Day, roughly 35.5 million or more Americans travel 50 miles or more from home for the holiday weekend, but with smartphones in nearly every pocket, that doesn’t mean that buyers are disconnected from taking advantage of a sale. Instead, it means that you need to make your Labor Day promotion appealing to buyers on mobile channels. Make sure that your graphics and other marketing materials look good on every screen – small and large – and that your site is simple to use and easy to read no matter what device your clients are using to visit your page.
This mobility plays another role, as well, particularly with mobile marketing campaigns. Facebook offers a wide range of options to target mobile users, and particularly noteworthy are two specific settings. The first, the default of “Everyone in this location,” targets all users within a specified area or radius. The second – and of particular note to Labor Day travelers – is for people traveling in a location. This setting allows you to market to people who are more than 125 miles from home. This can be perfect for taking your message to a new customer base that may be interested in exploring what you have to offer them while they’re in your neck of the woods.
Creatively Tie Your Promotion to Labor Day
Finally, kitschy as it might seem, there’s always something to be said for a good pun or tie-in for a themed promotion. Of course, you want it to be tasteful and connected to the Labor Day theme. Do you offer lawn care or landscaping services? Maybe you offer installation options for some of your products. Tease something about “Taking the Labor Out of Labor Day” in your promotional materials.
Do you offer products in a range of colors? Offer a discount on each of the different styles for the day after Labor Day, and mark down prices on the white model to make sure you keep in line with the old fashion faux pas about white after Labor Day.
How you decide to discount your products and appeal to customers is ultimately up to you and your business, but the planning and preparation is universal. Keep these tips in mind as the unofficial end of summer draws close, and keep your sales hot right into the end of the season.
Need help with your marketing strategy? Want to do more with Facebook or email marketing but aren’t sure where to start? Let us help. Give us a call at 888-874-3791 and speak with a member of our team today and learn how we can help give your online business marketing a boost.
