Last year Sarah and I attended a conference and we met a man on a mission. Matthew’s mission: get today, May the Fourth (Be With You), known worldwide as Make a Promise Day. Creative, right? We remembered it!
He wasn’t a Star Wars nut. Instead, he had made a promise to his mother on her death bed that he would publish his book. And he did. He wanted others to use the day to move their lives forward in some way by making an important promise, too.
Whether or not you like the concept of Make a Promise Day, special holidays can be a great reason to get your business free publicity and a ton of exposure. You don’t need to discount to bring clients in the door. Instead have a creative promotion that has to do with an existing special holiday. Use the special day as inspiration to create a special edition product or a new, limited time only service. Generate urgency for the special edition product or offer with a short window of opportunity (a day or two or this month only).
For example, during Breast Cancer Month, my salon carries special pink hair extensions. With each purchase of these hair extensions, they make a donation to Susan G. Komen. Not only can you spice up your look, but you can also feel good when you do it.
I bet you didn’t know that May is actually national photograph month and national hamburger month. Not to be outdone, the salad folks jumped on board and made it national salad month, too. Or maybe national salad month came first, but I kind of doubt it. Anyway, if you’re looking for a fun, quirky reason to have a promotion in your small business, check out this list of special days, or make up your own. You can use a special day to raise money for a charity, co-market with another business, or simply have a reason to get your clients’ attention.
This week was National Teacher’s Day. If your target audience includes teachers, or even moms with school age kids who want to do something extra nice for their children’s teachers, a special event or promotion that benefits teachers is a great way to generate buzz, create excitement, and get the phone ringing. What are you doing in your business to take advantage of special holidays? Do you have any great ideas you can share with the world to get new business in the door?