Be the ‘Valentine’s Day’ of services

Valentine’s Day is both loved and hated, but regardless of where you stand, you’re well-aware of its influential marketing power. For the second quarter, how can you transform your business into the “Valentine’s Day” of products or services?

By Sidnee Peck  |  Director, Center for Entrepreneurship

You either just wrapped up a wonderfully romantic Valentine’s Day weekend or wish that I would pick another subject, so you can move on. The holiday is both loved and hated, but regardless of where you stand, you’re well aware of its influential marketing power.

So, for the second quarter, how can you transform your business into the “Valentine’s Day” of products or services? Let's consider the way the holiday influences so many people to act: ­ It makes you feel pretty. When was the last time you had professional headshots taken and updated your website? I think, by this point, we all know how significant our online branding is, whether or not we actually sell anything via ecommerce.

I can admit to visiting various corporate websites and being turned off for no other reason than design. We don't want people to like us simply because we’re pretty, but if your Web presence is not attractive, industry-suitable and easy to navigate, then you may be losing more customers than you realize. Don’t have the budget for it? Team up with another business owner and see if you can get a deal on photos by splitting a session.

You have a fear of being left out. This is called FOMO (fear of missing out), and we see it in the purchasing world, as well as in many aspects of our social lives. How can you make customers fear missing out on what you have coming? This is the opposite of “desperation style” marketing (significant discounts, slick phrases), and instead creates a “cool” factor just by being you.

Products and companies that do a great job with this are those that know who they are and what they do (solve problems in a clear and obvious way). ­ You have a fear of disappointing someone you love. This plays well with parents who are shopping for children (Think “Frozen”), but can also be applied in other instances.

This is a method to express the value of your product or service to someone outside the target market, so that it is purchased as a gift. You hate it so much you make up anti-holidays to replace it. Are you the anti-product of something else? Is there so much passion around a competitor’s product that there are certain people who are sick of it and ready for an alternative?

For me, there is a certain jeweler who always comes to mind as a place I will never shop simply because the commercials drive me mad. I will literally go anywhere else. Embrace principles like this that work, and explore new marketing approaches this spring.