Grow your business with these e-commerce tips for Mother’s Day

While there’s no doubt that mothers deserve appreciation all year round, Mother’s Day is an ideal occasion for loved ones to truly celebrate them. It’s no longer just about chocolates and flowers either. Although cards are still the most popular way to tell Mom (or Grandma, your wife or your sister) how much you love her, other gifts range from clothing and jewellery through to gardening tools and electronics. So no matter what your e-commerce store sells, there’s a way to spin it for Mother’s Day to benefit your business.

Mother’s Day stats to motivate you

In case you’re still not convinced that Mother’s Day is a big deal, these local stats should quickly persuade you.

According to Meltwater, a global media intelligence company, most South Africans using social media feel good about Mother’s Day, with 70% expressing positive sentiments.

The big day is very much on people’s minds too, with the words “Mother’s Day” showing up on social media well over a million times in the week before, peaking on the day itself with 500,000 mentions.

Both of these social media stats are backed up by online news media, where mentions of “Mother’s Day” proliferate on the day, trending with positive words like “love”, “family” and “care”.

Most of these people are looking for a way to show Mom how they feel. Why not help to fulfill that need and grow your sales at the same time?

11 E-commerce ideas for a magical Mother’s Day

Let’s look at how to make the most of this prime opportunity to boost your sales and build your business.

1. Make it easy to find Mother’s Day gifts on your website

The most effective marketing isn’t about selling. Instead, it’s about helping people to buy – and the less work your customers have to do, the better. Add value by creating a special section or page on your e-commerce site where you recommend products suitable for Mother’s Day gifts. Then help customers filter through the options by structuring this section, perhaps by price range categories or by Mom’s personality or interests. Remember to place a Mother’s Day banner or prominent link on your home page and make sure all your marketing is directed straight to your special landing page.

2. Up the wow factor with bundling and complimentary services

It’s the small touches that make a difference. Thoughtfully grouping products that belong together and then selling the bundle at a discount will boost your sales of all the items involved. Think hot chocolate and marshmallows, bubble bath and body lotion or a snuggly blanket and a good book. Offering a complimentary service like gift wrapping, whether for bundles or individual items, adds that extra level of attention to detail and saves your customer further effort and time.

3. Use freebie psychology to sell more

Everyone loves to get something for nothing. Promotions of any kind boost conversions and free gifts work particularly well, even when they’re not worth a lot. In fact customers appreciate a free gift even more than a discount of higher monetary value, making freebies the cheaper option for you. This is especially true if you use it as an opportunity to showcase new products or clear old stock. When you offer the free gift over a certain threshold, you also encourage customers to spend more than they planned. Our free gift promotion plug-in makes this easy for you to manage. Just make sure you do your homework beforehand, so any loss you incur is worth it in terms of the profit, good will and/or brand awareness you gain.

4. Offer the convenience of gift cards

Gift cards work for both the gift giver and the receiver. Your customer doesn’t need to guess what gift Mom will want and Mom can get something she really loves. It’s also extremely convenient as gift cards can be bought at the eleventh hour, and emailed or printed at home, no delivery required. As an added bonus, there’s a good chance that either party may buy something extra while they’re visiting your e-commerce site, which is more money in the bank for you.

5. Use your email list to send out reminders

Mother’s Day tends to creep up and then suddenly be upon us. Help your customers avoid last minute panic (and the associated guilt) by reminding them well in advance that the big day is approaching. Send out timely emails to your database, including some content appropriate to Mother’s Day and a link to your specially curated landing page. You could also include gift suggestions in your email, with links directly to the relevant product pages, or special promo codes that they can redeem on Mother’s Day gifts. If you have cut-off dates for delivery in time for the day, make those clear well in advance too.

This email example from international brand Williams Sonoma uses a countdown to create urgency and excitement:

6. Capture new email addresses to build your list

Your email list is your most valuable marketing tool. If you get your Mother’s Day marketing right, there’s a good chance you’ll attract new visitors to your site. Do everything you can to encourage them to opt in to your email list while they’re there. A newsletter registration pop-up works well, especially if you offer them something in return, like a discount or a useful resource. If that fails, try to get their address as soon as they start check-out. Once you have that, you can contact them again and continue to build the relationship.

7. Provide value with Mom-centric content

Providing value builds loyalty and trust, and turns visitors into customers. Engage with your audience in as many ways as possible, which could include emailing or messaging your database, tweeting your followers, or blogging on your website. Occasions like Mother’s Day offer an ideal opportunity to suggest ways to treat Mom on the day, for example, budget gifts she might like, off-the-beaten-track experiences to share with her or recipes for a special Mother’s Day meal. Subtly include some of your own products or services in the mix of content, but don’t make it all about you. Your aim is to keep your business front of mind and build goodwill for your brand, which might pay off immediately or further down the line. Either way, it’s a win for you.

A few ideas for blogs (borrowed from www.proflowers.com):

8. Create a Pinterest board focussed on Mother’s Day gifts

Using other platforms gets your brand out there and expands your audience. Pinterest is a great example. Their millions of active users often start there when searching for ideas for everything from recipes and home renovations through to gift shopping. It’s also ideal for this purpose as it allows you to create a themed board around Mother’s Day, including gift ideas from your online store. This medium is all about images so make sure yours are highly attractive and excellent quality. They need to grab attention when a potential customer is scrolling through hundreds of competing pictures. Then link directly from the image on Pinterest through to the relevant product page so the customer can quickly buy that item.

Here is an example from Argos:

9. Run a special Mother’s Day promotion

Promotions help you sell more and bring new visitors to your site. Everyone’s looking for a good deal and a promo code that can be redeemed for a percentage or rand discount works well. You get to choose whether the discount can be applied to the order total, just to Mother’s Day gifts (label these with a Mother’s Day product ribbon), or to very specific items. Or you could offer free shipping on certain purchases or over a threshold total. Again, run your numbers on discounting beforehand to make sure you are gaining more than you are giving away. You can advertise your promotion on your website and social media channels, and in your newsletter. As always, the key is to know your objective, which could be to boost sales, promote new products or raise brand awareness.

10. Team up with a non-competing business to widen your audience

Working together with a complementary business can benefit both brands. Select some of your Mother’s Day products that have cross-over appeal or work well with items from another company. You could set up a reciprocal agreement where they market your products and you market theirs. Or you might simply ask them to distribute discount vouchers for your store to their customers. Either way, you’ll increase your traffic exponentially, attracting new visitors to your e-commerce site and making them aware of your products and your brand. While they’re there, encourage them to give you their email address for your database. If their experience is good, they may well buy from you right away. Or if you continue to provide value whenever you contact them after that, there’s a good chance they’ll come back.

The competition run by Mothers-day.co.za is a great example of this. They partnered with many well-known South African brands to put together this prize worth more than R200,000:

11. Run a contest for heart-warming Mom stories

Warm and fuzzy feelings generate goodwill and build both engagement and your brand. With the clever use of social media, Mother’s Day contests can attract followers and build your email list too. First decide on the prize, for example a gift voucher or a bag of goodies from your online store. Then ask people to submit their favourite stories about their Mom, along with their contact details, via your various social media channels. Or you could ask them to send in a photo of them and their Mom, or to caption a photo you’ve chosen. The winner can be decided by luck of the draw (which generates the most entries), or by your team, based on merit, or by getting others to vote(which encourages sharing). For very little cost, you’ll generate excitement, get people to your site and widen your audience base.

The bottom line…

With the right approach, Mother’s Day is an opportunity to immediately boost your sales while generating substantial goodwill for your brand. It’s also a way to reach out to a new audience and build your email list. Then, when you continue to provide value and build a trust relationship with your new followers, you transform them from one-time visitors into future customers.