Dear ,

Happy Valentine's Day!

And it’s no surprise that marketers feel romance is in the air.

Why?

Because Valentine’s Day generates $20.7 billion in sales in the US where the average spend is $161.96.

Even though Hallmark printed its first Valentines in 1913, don’t blame them for making the holiday a top shopping opportunity. (Btw – You may be surprised to discover that teachers receive the most Valentine’s Day cards.)

After Christmas, Valentine’s Day generates some of the largest sales for:

• Candy

• Flowers

• Cards

• Jewelry

• Dining out

While men tend to spend twice as much as women do, they can use your help since two-thirds of men forget to plan ahead for Valentine’s Day!

But don’t worry if you forget, there’s a good chance that your local deli still has a few bunches of overpriced velvety red roses that they’ll happily sell you for twice the usual price.

On a personal note, my husband and I abandoned Valentine’s Day gifts after our first one. Instead we avoid over crowded restaurants that seek to squeeze an extra seating and opt for a homemade candle light dinner.

While I love finding a good hook for a promotion, your marketing must be relevant and make sense to your audience.

Don’t jump on a holiday or event just because it’s an opportunity to promote your business and products.

For example, Back in November, my inbox was crammed full of Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions for products and services related to my business, not my family or friends.

Actionable Marketing Tip:

• Instead of forcing a connection with a holiday tie that doesn’t exist, find another hook. Use Google to find unusual holidays or connections that will surprise and delight your community.
   

• Include your company’s birthday. If the timing doesn’t work well for your marketing calendar, just move it to a time when you don’t have another promotion.

RECOMMENDED READING:

• How To Use Holidays For Your Marketing

• 13 Steps To An Effective Promotional Calendar

Why?

Because people do business with people. Your business is only as strong as your relationships with your audience, customers, employees, suppliers, distributors, influencers and others.

Don’t forget:

Keeping your existing audience and customers is significantly less expensive than acquiring new ones. (BTW, the same goes for employees!)

Since your acquisition cost to find and convert prospects is higher than promoting to people for whom you already have a relationship. Additionally, you can use less expensive creative and communications.

Further, while you may think that getting your prospect to purchase from you is your key milestone, your customer may only be trying your product or company out to see how well you perform post-purchase.

As a result McKinsey’s loyalty loop doesn’t kick in until the second purchase. Like dating, you have to get past the first date no matter how you met!

In today’s low trust environment, developing audience relationships is more important than ever!

Therefore, continue to support building audience relationships with your audience and customers by using on-going promotion-free communications and engaging in social media.

Using your branding and logo consistently will help you build your relationship and related trust.

RECOMMENDED READING:

• 10 Trust Elements

• How To Build Content Marketing Trust

Click here to get this and previous AMG newsletters on the Web.

PS: If you missed Content Marketing World 2018, you can still get all the content goodness with CMWorld Video On Demand. (use code: COHEN for a 10% discount.).

RECOMMENDED READING:

• How to Create a one Page Social Media Strategy

As always pay attention to where Baer places his marketing focus because it’s sure to be one of the leading marketing subjects.

Additionally take a page from Baer’s playbook since he’s a marketing whiz! I do and I always learn something new.

For example, Baer just launched a Talk Triggers video (and podcast) to support the book and Talk Triggers in general.

RECOMMENDED READING:

• Interview with Contagious Author Jonah Berger

Social Media Marketing World 2019

Even better they provide examples of how you can build a ongoing relationship with your reader with regular servings of non-promotional content.

• Austin Keon: This weekly roundup always contains at least one item that makes me think.

• Tamsen Webster: I love that Tamsen calls her weekly roundup #swipefile

• Allen Gannett: Allen provides unusual information in a fun friendly email (2X/week)

• Ann Handley: I eagerly read every single Total Annarchy Newsletter. They provide Ann’s latest insights as well as curated reading. (Every other week).