Effective marketing campaigns are critical for running a thriving local business.
With this in mind, exercising creativity and awareness can help you identify valuable opportunities and occasions for marketing your local business.
Considering the above, birthday promotions offer an effective way to increase engagement with local customers.
However, they do require planning and thoughtful execution.
Thus, in this step-by-step guide, you'll learn everything necessary for implementing and perfecting a birthday marketing campaign for your local business.
Let's get started!
What Are Birthday Marketing Campaigns?
Birthday marketing campaigns offer discounts, unique messages, and gifts for your customers to celebrate birthdays.
However, you can also employ birthday marketing to celebrate a company's anniversary or the owner's birthday.
A Step-by-Step Birthday Marketing Guide
Below is a step-by-step guide to help get you started with birthday marketing.
Step 1: Select the Right Software
Some email marketing software platforms allow you to select a birth date variable, which is the easiest way to kick off a birthday marketing campaign.
Accordingly, the software will send an automated message whenever a subscriber's birthday arrives.
With this in mind, you can also easily collect birthday information via email list subscription forms.
In other words, the software records your prospects' birth date information after subscribing to your list.
Then, after they opt in, you can set your automated message/offer.
Step 2: Identify Your Offer
You should decide on an appropriate giveaway offer before launching your birthday campaign.
For example, will the customer receive a gift, a discount, or a personalized message?
Step 3: Create a Birthday Wish List
Sending subscribers a birthday wishlist email a few weeks before their birthday enables them to create a wishlist of desired products to pass along to their family and friends.
You can also extend the offer or discount to those in their inner circle as a way of helping them celebrate the occasion.
Step 4: Decide on a Birthday Theme
Choosing a theme is particularly helpful when celebrating an owner's birthday or the anniversary of a company launch.
Additionally, following a new theme each year adds fun and excitement to the annual event.
Ultimately, this encourages more people to participate.
For example, you could offer a one-day birthday event one year and then a month-long discount the next.
Step 5: Remember to Send a Follow-up
Feel free to follow up with customers who don't initially take you up on your birthday offer by sending them a message that reminds them of your offer a couple of weeks after their birthday.
After all, people often forget about or overlook offers and discounts related to their birthdays.
For example, they could be too busy celebrating to see the email.
Thus, a well-timed follow-up will remind them of the offer and increase your likelihood of making a sale.
Just for You Campaigns
You can try running "Just for You" campaigns if you don't have or can't access customer birthday information.
Namely, you would send "Just for You" campaign offers to celebrate the anniversary of your customer's first purchase.
You can also send offers celebrating the customer's anniversary of signing up for your loyalty program.
Considering the above, if you still wish to offer a birthday discount, try sending a survey that includes a question that asks for the customer's birth date.
However, avoid directly asking for the customer's age in the survey since some people are sensitive about getting older.
In Conclusion
Overall, birthday marketing is an excellent way for local businesses to engage with and show appreciation for their loyal customers.
By all means, doing so requires a dedicated plan, but the rewards of creating a lasting impression are worthwhile.
Thus, employ the steps listed above to establish a birthday marketing plan to nurture customer relationships that keep them returning for more.
Hope this helps,
Erik
We implement creative, results-based digital and hybrid marketing strategies for local business clients.
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