Mother’s Day Ideas for Small Businesses

Mother's Day is May 11 this year – and fast approaching. Consider some ideas for reaching out to moms (and the families who buy for them) in order to tap into the market and appeal to families and mothers:

Family experiences

Many moms prefer a family activity, elaborate meal, or day out to be a preferable way to celebrate the holiday. Restaurants, spas, boutiques, craft studios, and entertainment venues can capitalize on the popularity of the holiday by offering moms and their families discounted access and themed events. Advertising Mother’s Day-themed events via email and social media can generate a lot of publicity and drive up revenue the whole weekend.

Custom gift baskets

Gift baskets are a good way to present a lot of small gifts that a mom might love in one unique and special package. Allowing customers to choose their own selection of gourmet treats, jewelry, flowers, or specialty items for a gift basket enables them to personalize each basket to match the specialized tastes and preferences of the recipient. Offering basket options as individual as the moms they celebrate gives family members a customized, one-of-a-kind way to acknowledge their mom’s unique influence.

Gift cards

Gift cards continue to be a popular gift and alternative to cash, and more places now offer e-gift cards, making them an appealing option for long-distance gift-givers who want something delivered quickly. Gift cards that can be redeemed in multiple stores, can be delivered (or e-delivered) for free, and don’t come with expiration dates, transaction fees, or inactivity charges give buyers the most for their money.

Early advertising is key

It is always advisable to advertise Mother’s Day specials early—in order to get a jump-start on the competition and to alert your customers to deals, promotions, and discounts so that they have maximum time to plan. However, even if you didn’t start much of a Mother’s Day marketing campaign yet, it is not too late to promote some meaningful items. Many, many consumers shop at the last minute. Online and mobile shopping have made last-minute shopping much easier, and savvy consumers also sometimes wait until closer to a holiday to get the last-minute sales bonuses. Businesses that are just starting now with Mother’s Day advertising still have time to execute a few last-minute attempts to reach customers in time. Some strategies to consider:

·       Emailing messages to your current subscribers with links to products on your site

·       Posting social media messages each day leading up to the holiday

·       Offering free shipping on gifts to attract the last-minute shoppers who need to send something quickly

·       Partnering or cross-promoting with a non-competing company that offers similar and/or complementary services and products

·       Promoting contests, prizes, and giveaways to attract new customers

Checks for everyday giving and everyday marketing

Checks are safer to mail than cash. They incur no inactivity fees or activation charges (unlike some gift cards) and they can be cashed or deposited immediately by virtually anyone. Checks make great gifts, as well as great tools for payment, for both individuals and businesses.

Checkeeper offers online check printing and mailing to businesses of all sizes and types

When you run any marketing promotion, for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or any other holiday or special event, you’ll need a reliable software partner that can keep payments made on time, employees paid promptly, and transactions recorded and synced effortlessly. Checkeeper takes care of all the payment needs that small business owners don’t want to think about.

Checkeeper offers:

·       Unlimited online check printing and mailing

·       No hidden fees, transaction charges, account surcharges, or tiered pricing

·       Automatic recording of all check details in an online check registry

·       Powerful searching and reporting options using any check field and reporting the details of every check transaction

·       Integrated data syncing with QuickBooks Online, Gusto, Square, Xero, Odoo, and other widely-used accounting and payroll software tools

·       Emergency fill-in check services for breached or discontinued products until a permanent solution is chosen

·       User permission settings to add authorized users or a virtual bookkeeper to access the payments remotely

·       Easy importing of check files for batch printing and mailing of many checks at once

·       Unlimited logo, design, image, background, and signature uploading for unique customizing of checks

·       Direct bill-to-check conversion linking Checkeeper to Odoo or Xero

·       Four priority delivery options—three with tracking—to keep business owners in control of the speed of payment deliveries and accountability in chain of custody

·       High-volume check mailing services for customer rebates, refunds, reimbursements, legal settlements, and other mass payment types

·       A free account with a free trial to give users a no-risk, no-commitment entry into the world of unlimited check printing and mailing