To many businesses, June is a busy month – because it’s the month to pick up extra revenue from those shopping for “dads and grads.” E-mail marketing is an effective way to target these shoppers. Let’s take a look at some tips and ideas to get started.
First, don’t lump the two special occasions together. Dads and grads have very different needs and tastes, so plan your marketing efforts as two separate campaigns. Highlight power tools and things that dads love in one design, while the grads campaign can highlight things they’ll need as they enter the next level of school or the working world.
Be creative. Even businesses such as insurance, realty, and travel can find a way to tie into the holiday. For example, insurance agents can offer a discount on car insurance for new grads.
As you refine your list of products for the campaign, think of a call-to-action that will make a good subject line in your e-mail. For example, “No shipping fees for Father’s Day gift purchases.” Remember to avoid words in your subject line such as “free” to make sure spam filters don’t reject your message.
Keep your product and service offering concise – maybe only one to three items that you will promote in an e-mail. This keeps the buyer decision process easy. Sometimes more information and choices only creates doubt and uncertainty.
Frame the e-mail offer as a message to those who will be buying the gifts for the target market. For example, often it is the parents or relatives who will be buying gifts for the Grads, so your goal is to have an e-mail that speaks to the adults and gets them interested.
Improve your success by giving customers the option of purchasing a gift certificate, in case the buyer isn’t sure what their Dad or Grad will like from your store.
Send a reminder e-mail just before the holiday. That will catch the last-minute shoppers at the right moment. Make sure that your delivery processing time is accounted for in your email timing.
There is always another seasonal holiday just around the corner. With a little bit of planning you can develop a schedule of email outreach to prospects, and add seasonal holidays to the mix.
