Memorial Day, which was known as “Decoration Day,” commemorates the brave men who have sacrificed their lives while servicing the nation. Every year, this day is observed on last Monday of May and is a federal holiday. If you own a business or running an organization, you should keep track of these days to improve your visibility among the target market. Especially if you are into a small industry, you should keep running constantly to avoid getting lost. A few marketing hacks for special occasions always come in handy.
You can pay respect to your country’s historical day by organizing certain events, broadcasting motivational messages, or providing exciting offers to gain trust, respect, and visibility among your prospects. But while executing these strategies, few may lose their voice by taking certain crucial aspects for granted. What are they? We listed Six Memorial Day marketing mistakes to avoid if you want to achieve what you seek.
Table of Contents
1. You Think Memorial Day is not at all Relevant to your Business
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It’s quite a common mistake most of the marketers do. There are various reasons behind this thought, such as most of the people plan to barbecue on Memorial Day weekend, and some go out for a trip with family and friends. And, when you don’t sell hot dogs or items to travelers, you assume you can’t run campaigns on this holiday. This thought leads to several missed opportunities. You should remember that – any business can promote its products or services on Memorial Day.
It is not necessary that your business operation should link directly to what people do on this day. If you own a car servicing business, you can come up with a great offer for the customers. Do you sell B2B mailing list? Send direct mail to the audience about the discounts you are offering them on Memorial Day. Doesn’t it sound great? It does. So, use this day as a right opportunity to promote a weekend deal!
2. Not knowing the Difference between Memorial Day and Veteran Day
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On this day, you will find most of the companies wishing their clients and potential customers on social media channels. But, some marketers make this simple yet shameful mistake in their messages without realizing the difference between Memorial and Veteran Day. Although both holidays involve honoring service members, they have specific differences to make note of. Let me make it clear. On Memorial Day, we pay our tribute to the brave souls who died serving the nation.
On the other hand, Veterans Day honors all who served the country, where the particular focus is on thanking living veterans for their contributions. So, wishing people with “Happy Memorial Day” may not be appropriate. Phrases such as, “we remember and honor the ones who sacrificed their lives for our nation” is the better alternative.
3. You Forget the Real Reason behind this Day
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While trying to promote the product or services, some marketers make this day all about themselves. They forget the reason behind their marketing campaigns. This can quickly turn the audience off. On Memorial Day, we honor the ones who have made the sacrifice for our freedom, so it’s always important not to lose sight of that when you develop promotional materials. Make it a practice to include a statement that honors the courageous militants in your marketing materials.
Come up with some special deals and freebies to people on Memorial Day, or you can contribute a portion of your campaign success to causes that support veterans or the families of fallen soldiers. Make it clear to your prospects and loyal customers that your company stands in solidarity with military members and their families. This will definitely increase the customer base for your business.
4. You finish your Campaigns too Early or Start it too Late
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As I mentioned earlier, some firms assume Memorial Day has nothing to do with their business. After realizing its importance, they may organize the relevant events, but unfortunately, it will be too late to gain enough attention from customers. Whereas, there are a few organizations who are so keen to upsurge their sales traffic that they start with the campaigns before a month or still earlier and finish it off quickly. Both these mistakes will lead to a huge loss.
Customers will not start buying from you until a week or two before the holiday but starting a promotion a couple of weeks before that will increase the deal awareness. At the same time, don’t end your offer date too quickly. Most of the customers will buy the product day before or on Memorial Day itself. So, keep aside some of your marketing budget for a last-minute deal.
Also Read:Alert! Are You Making These Sales Mistakes?
5. You use Only one Channel for Promotion
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Customers and prospects are present everywhere. Then, why do you stick to one particular channel for promotion? For instance, if your Memorial Day marketing strategy involves boosting a post only on Instagram, the result will likely disappoint you. To increase your brand exposure, to reach a maximum number of audience, your marketing strategy must incorporate more than one marketing platform.
On this Memorial Day, promote your services or products with relevant messages or banners on various channels. It can include:
– Social media posts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or other websites.
– Sending direct-mail postcards, and flyers to the loyal customers on this day.
– Promoting your brand with media advertising such as television, radio, and newspaper inserts.
6. You Ignore your Competitors Totally
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Competitors are everywhere. Notably, on special occasions, you will find hundreds of thousands of offers online. Therefore, you must always monitor the activities of your competitors. Know what they are up to. It helps you to set a benchmark to beat. Also, you can make your offers much more exciting and attractive to your customers. But don’t just rely on their plans or ideas, try to come up with something very initiative in your market that can provide real value to the customers and also help you stand apart from the competition.
Now it’s Your Turn
These common Memorial Day mistakes can undoubtedly impact your business. So, try not to make any of them and flare-up your sales drive on this day. Memorial day is just around the corner. Why wait? Draft a right campaign strategy now and keep up with the marketing race.
