Valentine’s Day provides an incredible opportunity for businesses to bring in extra revenue. From offering Valentine’s Day-themed items to couple-themed experiences, there are many ways to boost your earnings during the days that lead up to this holiday. Read on to learn how your business can maximize its revenue on Valentine’s Day this year.
How to Take Advantage of a High-Volume Day
Valentine’s Day is a big retail holiday with $15 billion being spent in the United States each year. You want to be ready for a high-volume day before it arrives. Make sure that you have extra staff on hand and make shopping simple for your customers. It is worthwhile to rearrange your spotlight displays to exhibit your Valentine’s Day items and promotions.
If you have a display near the entrance of the store, organize your Valentine’s offerings here. Pair together items to help customers see how they can customize gifts. In addition, you should have shelves of a display near the cash register for last-minute additions. By making it easier for your customers to find your Valentine’s Day offerings, you will make more sales.
Offer Special Promotions and Options
Whether you are a florist or a gift shop, you can offer special Valentine’s promotions to increase your sales. For example, you could offer flowers and a stuffed teddy bear or a box of chocolates to maximize your sales. In addition, have different options so that your customer has choices in terms of price point. You might have a six-rose offering and a twelve-rose offering combined with chocolates. The customer will appreciate the choice.
Restaurants Can Offer Couples’ Meals
If you own a restaurant, you can offer a couple’s meal on the menu or you can offer two-for-one dinners so that anyone can participate. This is a great promotion and you may even draw diners who aren’t necessarily celebrating Valentine’s Day. Alternatively, you could offer a special on appetizers or dessert. Just make sure that you have a sign or print-out that has hearts on it or is written in red or pink so that people know what you are offering. By increasing your clientele through the promotion, you will increase your overall revenue for the day.
Incorporate a Love-Based Fundraiser
Another way to both be a better business owner and increase your revenue is to include a fundraiser into your Valentine’s Day promotions. You can give a percentage of your Valentine’s Day-themed products to a local animal shelter or children’s advocacy group. People love to know that they are part of something that spreads kindness in the world today and this kind of gesture will elevate your business reputation.
Make Shopping Fun
You can decorate your cash register area and store windows with Valentine’s Day-themed items and make sure that you show that Valentine’s Day is about more than couples. Children and parents or good friends may want to feel included. You can also offer heart-shaped cookies to your customers or heart-shaped finger sandwiches. This is a great way to draw people into your store and once they are there, they will shop.
Offer a Giveaway
Depending on your budget, you can offer a drawing for a giveaway on Valentine’s Day. It can be something simple such as a couple’s trip to a spa or something more extravagant such as a dinner cruise. People enjoy the excitement of entering a giveaway and they will enjoy shopping at your establishment.
Celebrate Real Love Stories
Have people share their love stories with your business and select a few for your social media site. You can acknowledge and recognize your customers, and this will make them feel appreciated. Not only will they shop with you on Valentine’s Day but they will keep coming back long after it. Customer appreciation builds loyalty and loyalty keeps them coming back for more.
Give Out Valentine’s Day Cards
No matter what your business is, you can have Valentine’s cards on hand for customers who make a purchase. You can wish them a Happy Valentine’s Day, thank them for letting you be a part of it, and then offer a coupon for a discount or a freebie at a later date. This will make your customers feel appreciated so that they return to your business.
Play Music About Love and Friendship
Instead of having the radio in the background, select a playlist of songs that are themed around love and friendship. People will get into the spirit of the holiday when you add this special touch. You can alternate between romantic love songs and songs about kindness or loving your parents, children, or friends. Music makes people happy and love songs remind people to show their love to others by way of gifts.
Bring in Live Music
If you want to take it a step further, especially if you own a restaurant, hire a musician who plays acoustic guitar or piano and sings about love. This is always a lot of fun and it makes the evening more romantic and special for couples. If you want to be the go-to restaurant for Valentine’s Day dates, this is a wonderful added touch.
Final Thoughts
Valentine’s Day is an incredible opportunity for all businesses to increase their revenue. In addition to this special day, businesses can use promotions and offers to draw customers back again. Having a big revenue day on Valentine’s Day is a great thing but growing your customer base and retaining new customers will grow your business all year long.
You can make your store or restaurant special with décor and music. Arrange your Valentine’s Day offerings in a prominent display so that customers won’t need to search for what they need. If you include cards with future offers and discounts, people will come back later. Make sure to market with “two for the price of one” deals. Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity for your business to succeed.
It Matters with Matt
Written by Matt Rojas
Rojas is a Senior Lending Officer, ISO Manager, Underwriter, and Factoring Specialist for Ironwood Finance since 2015. His team provides educational information to the small business community, which covers topics such as business financing, education, customer service, and much more. If you’d like to see a topic covered on the Ironwood Finance blog, or be featured please email him at matt@ironwoodfinance.com
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