This year, spending on Mother’s Day is projected to hit a record high of $23.6 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. That’s the highest in the annual survey’s 14-year history, surpassing last year’s previous record of $21.4 billion. How can your small business capture some of those Mother's Day dollars? Here are a dozen marketing ideas to get you started—but you have to act fast.
1. Celebrate on social media. Attract attention to your business with Mother's Day-related posts. Get customers engaged by asking them to share their best Mother's Day ever, the best advice their mom ever gave them, or baby photos of them with their moms. You and your employees can share the same.
2. Advertise on social media. Just about every mom is on Facebook. In addition to your organic posts, spend a little more to promote some ads. The social media giant’s advertising options make it simple to narrowly target moms in your area or who are interested in what you sell.
3. Hold a contest. Promote a contest on social media or in your business. You can ask people to share the best advice their mom ever gave them, the best “throwback” photo of their mom, or what they appreciate most about their mom.
4. Offer a two-for-one special. Give customers a “buy one, get one free” or “buy one, get one 50 percent off” deal if they bring their mothers in with them.
5. Put together a gift guide. If you own an e-commerce business that sells products suitable for Mother's Day gifting, create different gift guides to put on your homepage—for example, gifts for moms who love gardening, gifts for moms who love cosmetics or gifts for moms who love to cook. Create a gift guide with links to products you sell, and share it in your marketing emails and on social media. You can do this now for your site, but next year, if you prepare it in advance, you can also send it to local publications, parenting blogs and other media that might be looking for Mother's Day gift guides.
6. Host an event. Mother’s Day events are a natural for businesses that cater to moms. With a little creativity, almost any small business can come up with a relevant event. For instance, a bookstore could hold a reading of children's books and invite fathers to bring the kids so mom gets some time to herself.
7. Give away free gifts. Offering a free gift with purchase—or just a free gift, period—to every mom who visits your business is a great way to drive traffic.
8. Partner with businesses that generate a lot of Mother's Day sales. According to the NRF, top gifts people plan to buy for Mom include flowers and personal services (such as a manicure, massage or spa day). See if you can team up with a local florist, spa, massage therapist or beauty salon to co-promote your businesses. For instance, offer customers a discount on your products or services if they bring in a receipt from the florist. The beauty salon could hand out coupons or $10 gift cards for your business to patrons.
9. Co-market with local restaurants. Mother's Day is one of the busiest days of the year for many restaurants. More than half of Americans plan to take Mom out to eat, according to the NRF. Research by the National Restaurant Association in 2016 showed 26 percent of those treating Mom to a restaurant meal will choose brunch, 31 percent will select lunch, and 46 percent will go out for dinner. Get in on the action by partnering with nearby restaurants to market each other. For example, customers could show a receipt from your store to get a free mimosa or appetizer at the restaurant.
10. Sell gift cards. The NRF reports that 45 percent of Americans will buy gift cards for Mother's Day this year. If you already sell gift cards or gift certificates, promote them heavily with signage in your business, on social media, on your website and in your marketing emails.
11. Sell greeting cards. Greeting cards are by far the most popular purchase for Mother's Day: 77.9 percent of Americans plan to buy them, according to the NRF. If you sell greeting cards, display them prominently at checkout.
12. Offer giftwrapping services. Do you own a store that sells potential Mother's Day gifts? Simplify shoppers’ lives by offering free giftwrap services or providing free gift bags and tissue paper with purchases.
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