4 ways to promote a winning Father's Day via SMS

Father’s Day is fast approaching! This year, the big date is Sunday 16th June for almost all countries worldwide. Undoubtedly, an event of this scale presents a huge opportunity for businesses in all industries to maximise sales. To put a figure on the value of Father’s Day, last year it was predicted that approximately £799 million was spent in the UK alone and this figure has been rising steadily year on year. One of the biggest challenges of a day like Father’s Day for businesses is thinking about what type of promotional offers or incentives to offer to customers that are competitive yet still returns good margins. Alongside this, planning out how to communicate said offers can also be stressful as the way that the offers are presented will have a big impact on their success. If you do not know what to say or how to promote your offer, then don’t worry, we have compiled 4 different ways that you can promote your Father’s Day offers via SMS marketing.

1 - Help your customers find the right gifts.

Purchasing a Father’s Day gift can be tricky and often leaves us with no idea of what to buy. Almost every year, we think about how we are going to get something amazing that is going to amaze our Dad, but then ultimately run out of time and end up settling for the same gifts. You know where this is going…beer, ties, gift vouchers etc. According to NRF, here are the most popular gifts that are purchased based on overall spending: cards (63%), special outings (47%), apparel (43%), gift cards (42%) and electronics (20%). The running theme is that a lot of these items get purchased year after year, due to a combination of both convenience and lack of gift creativity.

Another way in which you could use SMS marketing is by encouraging 2-way communication with your customers. You can ask your customers a series of questions about their dad and then go on to provide some suggested products based upon their answers. Whilst this option will take more time, it will go a long way in emphasising the level of customer service that you are willing to provide for your customers. Finally, you could attach a document to your text marketing campaign that allows customers to see a wide range of products that you are currently offering.

2 – Offer personalised products & services.

One way in which you can increase your Father’s Day sales is by providing customers with the ability to personalise gifts, when applicable. The UK market for personalised products is now over £1 billion, which emphasises the level of demand there is from consumers to buy products that have personal value. Alongside this, the market is expected to grow even bigger on a global scale, with an approximate 9% market increase during the period from 2017 to 2021. Therefore, for retailers that sell items such as jewellery and personalised cards, giving customers the option to personalise gifts is a no brainer. In fact, without personalisation, you may stand a high chance of losing customers to competitors.

For all other retailers, personalisation can provide you with a competitive advantage that could give your Father’s Day sales a significant push. If you cannot personalise the products themselves, you could also consider gift wrapping or adding personalisation to the delivery process. The quickest and easiest way to communicate these features with your customers is by using SMS marketing. This is because SMS has an extremely high open rate (98%) and campaigns can be sent out within minutes. As mentioned previously, your SMS campaign can include an attachment or a short link that showcases some of your personalised products that are available.

3 - Last minute bookings.

Going back to point one, you can use the fact that customers often leave Father’s Day until last minute to your advantage. This can be achieved by offering last minute bookings and reservations, providing you offer this type of service. Some industries which can find success by doing this includes hotels, days out activity companies and particularly restaurants. Regarding just how late some people leave their gift purchasing, studies show that 38% of bookings for tours and activities happen either on the same day or up to two days before the trip. Therefore, emphasising a significant opportunity. Again, a great way to remind your customers that they still have time to book is by using SMS marketing. You can use SMS to keep your customers in the loop and warn them when you are almost fully booked, which may push customers into a decision. It is worth noting that businesses that do not offer a service that requires a reservation can still send out an SMS campaign informing customers that Father’s Day is almost here and you have a great selection of products to consider.

4 - Limited time sales

Another way that you can promote a winning Father’s Day is by offering customers a limited time sale. Your discount could include a reduction on all of your items or just focus on specific items that are most likely to be of interest to customers purchasing Father’s Day gifts. Providing customers with a deadline to purchase encourages them to act quickly and can often lead to impulse purchasing, which can have a great impact on your sales numbers. SMS marketing is a great way to inform your customers of any limited time sales that you have because, as mentioned previously, its open rates cannot be matched elsewhere. Furthermore, findings show that 66% of people who subscribe to text marketing campaigns have made a purchase as a result of receiving a text. Therefore, showing just how impactful an SMS marketing campaign could be to your company.