Every brand wants to stay top of mind with their customers. That way, when the moment comes to buy, you’re the first place they visit. But if you’re a business owner, you know the challenge of standing out in saturated markets. And not to stress you out, but this sobering statistic further validates how hard it is to stay top of mind with your clients: In the 1970s, people saw an average of 500-1600 ads per day. Now, it’s estimated that we see between 6,000 and 10,000 ads every single day.
A Creative Marketing Tool to Help You Stay Top of Mind
Speaking of statistics, did you know that World Statistics Day is held every five years on October 20th? We know that’s a random fact, but it’s just the kind of random fact that could be leveraged to help the right company stand out in a crowded marketplace.
That’s right. We want you to get comfy/cozy with special national and world days as you plan your marketing calendar.
Bookmark National Day Calendar, and look through it for fun, unusual, and unique days that pertain to your industry. Then use those days (or weeks or months) as themes in your marketing approaches.
Here’s how.
Let’s say you run a business supporting math tutors. In our statistics example above, October 20th would be a perfect way to reach out to current and potential clients with a well-crafted message about the importance of statistics. You could send a message to encourage math tutors that they’re doing good work for their clients, while reminding them that you offer custom-made services to help them run their business more smoothly.
If you are a vet or manage a pet store, remind your clients to properly ID their pets during National Pet ID Week, beginning April 17. Provide them with a simple way to do it through your business to not only increase your revenue, but position yourself as a trusted resource who cares.
If your company supports small businesses in any way, send a customized promotional item to small business owners during Small Business Week in the first week in May.
If you run a gardening center, reach out to your customers during National Garden Week with a promotion.
Be Silly
If people are going to be exposed to thousands of ads each day, make sure your business is memorable in its communications. One way to do this is to let your personality shine through, and a silly personality can be memorable.
Use your social media, promotional items, newsletters, or emails to highlight silly days that relate to your industry.
How about an email for your fashion brand featuring models wearing your clothes while holding umbrellas on National Open an Umbrella Indoors Day on March 13?
What about using social media to tell ridiculous, laugh-out-loud parenting stories to remind your parenting clients not to take things too seriously on Let’s Laugh Day on March 19?
How about reminding your clients of your company’s unique benefits on National Unicorn Day on April 9? Point out that your customer service makes you a unicorn in a saturated business.
A car dealership could run a contest for silliest car name on National Name Your Car Day on October 2.
Encourage your barber shop clients to grow a beard by the first Saturday in September for World Beard Day. Offer discounts on beard products on that day only.
Honor or Show Appreciation
Use national days to celebrate people in different fields.
If you’re a realtor, reach out to women in construction in your community during Women in Construction Week in March. Highlight some of them in your social media.
If you’re in healthcare or a healthcare adjacent industry, give a nod to nurses during the many days and weeks set aside for nurses in different specialties.
If you run a nursing home, show you care about your residents by reminding people to reach out on National Cheer up the Lonely Day on July 11.
Tips to Use National Days Effectively
There are countless ways to use national days in your marketing but keep some general guidelines in mind.
Celebrate Days That Make Sense
Choose days that line up with your industry or an adjacent industry. It wouldn’t make much sense to use National Horse Protection Day in your marketing if you sell musical instruments. Choosing random days that don’t relate to your industry and company will be confusing and won’t keep you top of mind. Rather, they’ll contribute to people forgetting you.
Make the Information Useful and Beneficial to Your Customers
If you run a dessert shop, it may be nice for your clients to hear about National Banana Cream Pie Day from you, but if you don’t give them something to do with the information, you’ll be forgettable. Use the holiday to give a coupon for anything banana flavored, ask people to dress up as bananas for a free slice, or something else that gets your clients to connect the day to your business while taking action.
Choose Wisely
If you celebrate a day every week, your clients might tire of your marketing method. But if you choose strategic days throughout the year, and drum them up with promotions and calls-to-action, your clients will keep you top of mind.
Think Ahead
You can do a lot with National Beard Day (beard-growing contest), National Promposal Day (balloon and flower shops, take note!), and National School Librarian Day (encourage shows of gratitude), but you need to give people enough time to participate. Don’t throw something together and announce it on social media the day-of. Drum up excitement and encourage participation ahead of time.
Make It Annual
Pick a day that closely aligns with your business, and make it a big deal every single year. You could hold contests that coordinate with the day, save your biggest promotions for that day, partner with other businesses, and so much more to turn the day into a pillar of your marketing strategy.
Use Multiple Touch Points
As in everything marketing related, if you want to stay top of mind, you need to use multiple touch points. Use social media to spread the word about your celebration/promotion/event. Include news of the day and how you plan to recognize it in your newsletters. Send promotional items or direct mail. Keep your messaging and branding consistent across all platforms for the biggest impact.
At Impact Marketing and Design, we’re passionate about helping you stay top of mind for your customers. We know which items make a difference, and we’ll help you reach your marketing goals. Give us a call today at (888) 441-1233, or contact us online for a free consultation about how to get in front of your customers, and help them buy.