Effective marketing campaigns are critical to operating a thriving local business.
Moreover, maintaining awareness and exercising creativity will help identify valuable opportunities and occasions for marketing your local business.
With this in mind, with simple planning and thoughtful execution, birthday promotions are an easy and effective way to increase engagement with local customers.
Thus, in this step-by-step guide, you'll learn everything necessary for implementing and perfecting birthday marketing for your local business.
So, let's get started!
What is Birthday Marketing?
Birthday marketing entails offering product and service discounts, unique messages, and gifts for your customers as a way of helping them celebrate their birthdays.
However, birthday marketing can also relate to celebrating a company's or its owner's birthday.
Regardless, local businesses that utilize birthday marketing campaigns achieve higher click-through rates while boosting their reputation and profits.
Your Step-by-Step Birthday Marketing Guide
Below is a step-by-step guide to help get you started with birthday marketing while reaping the numerous benefits of this lucrative technique.
Step 1: Choose the right software
Some email marketing software platforms allow you to select a birth date variable, which is the easiest way to partake in birthday marketing.
Hence, the software will send an automated message whenever a customer's birthday arrives.
With this in mind, you can collect birthday information via email list subscription forms, as the software records your prospects' birth date information after subscribing to your list.
Following their opt-in, you can then set your automated message/offer.
Step 2: Pinpoint your offer
Deciding on a giveaway offer before launching your birthday campaign is usually best.
For example, will the customer receive a gift or a personalized message?
Also, it is worth noting that discounts are popular; however, they benefit your business, too.
Therefore, consider crafting an offer that solely benefits the customer, such as gifts and competition entries, to help acknowledge and celebrate their special day.
Step 3: Consider a birthday wish list
Your prospects and customers likely receive many well-wishing messages on their birthdays.
Consequently, sending a birthday wishlist email a few weeks prior allows the customer to create a wishlist of desired products to pass along to their family and friends.
To be sure, a birthday wishlist will excite them with anticipation for their upcoming birthday.
Yet, you could also offer a discount for friends and family who purchase via your list.
Step 4: Choose a birthday theme
Choosing a theme is an excellent idea when celebrating an owner's birthday month or the anniversary of a company launch.
Not to mention, following a new theme each year adds fun and excitement to the annual event.
For example, you could offer a one-day birthday event or a month-long discount.
Regardless, many theme options are available to encourage people to participate.
Step 5: 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 following their birthday.
After all, people often forget about offers and company discounts related to their birthdays.
For example, they could be too busy celebrating to see the email.
Thus, a well-timed follow-up reminds them about the offer and increases your likelihood of making a sale.
Just for you alternative campaigns
If you don't possess customer birthday information, you can try running "Just for You" campaigns instead.
Namely, you would send "Just for You" campaign offers to celebrate the customer's first purchase anniversary.
You can also send offers to celebrate the customer's anniversary of signing up for your loyalty program.
Be that as it may, consider sending a survey if you still wish to offer a birthday discount, as one of the questions could include the customer's birth date.
However, avoid including the customer's age in the survey as some people are sensitive about their age.
In conclusion
Overall, birthday marketing is an excellent way for local businesses to increase customer loyalty and foster engagement by showing customer appreciation.
By all means, doing so requires a dedicated plan, but the rewards of creating a lasting impression will be worthwhile.
Thus, use the steps listed above to establish a birthday marketing plan to build stronger customer relationships that keep them returning for more.
Talk Soon,
Erik
We implement creative, results-based digital marketing strategies for local business clients.
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