.png){kind=spacer}
Marketing Idea #1: Collaborate to attract new customers
Working with thousands of e-commerce stores at Syncio, we’ve seen that the most successful operators partner up with other stores to double their collective impact, combine strengths and reach new audiences. This is especially pertinent around events like Valentine’s Day, where there’s a real opportunity to use collaborative gifts to attract new customers looking for themed holiday gifts.
Creative cross-store collaborations to try
1. Create Valentine’s Day-themed bundles
Pair your products with a complimentary store’s to create a complete gift in one. This is appealing to customers as it does the hard work for them.
Here are some classic bundling ideas to get you started:
- your wine + their chocolates
- your flowers + their candles
- your jewellery + their card
2. Co-create experiences and gift guides
Take bundles one step further and think about whether your products could combine for a complete Valentine’s experience.
For example:
- A romantic date night: Your meal kit + their wine
- A Galentine’s Day night in: Your face masks + their chocolates
- A picnic date: Your picnic blanket and basket + their dishware
- A Palentine’s party: Your decorations + their card game
3. Cross-promote to engage your audience
Double your reach and halve your effort by combining your promotional material and sharing on both your platforms. This strategy can help you reach a wider audience. You could co-create content like:
- Teasers for upcoming Valentine’s exclusive product drops or limited-edition items
- Behind-the-scenes photos of your preparation
- Memes
- Competitions and giveaways
- Valentine’s gift guides
- UGC following Valentine’s Day
How this looks in action: Bobbi Brown x Lunya
Beauty brand Bobbi Brown paired up with luxury sleepwear brand Lunya to run a giveaway competition based around the theme ‘self-love’. They combined their mailing lists to send out a ‘self-love letter’. To enter, customers had to fill in the blank sections in the letter to their future selves - with prompts like their goals for the next year. The winner received a bundled prize of high-end makeup products and loungewear.
Why it worked
To begin with, both brands effectively doubled their reach by combining audiences. They also focused more on promoting a long-term emotional attachment with the brand rather than a one-off purchase by focusing on building trust and providing seamless customer experiences across both websites. Finally, they strategically targeted an audience segment that is both under-utilized and their target buyer: single women. Which leads us to our second marketing idea…
Marketing idea #2: Don’t forget the singles, and make the most of Galentine’s Day
Millennials and Gen Z are increasingly celebrating Valentine’s Day by treating their friends, or even themselves to a gift. Last year, 62% of 16-34-year-olds in the UK bought a gift for themselves for Valentine's Day. And 32% of US consumers planned to purchase gifts for friends.
That’s a huge share of the market that historically hasn’t been catered for during this event. V-Day is the perfect time to reach this fast-growing audience.
You can make the most of this gap in the market by not only listing products that work well for singles and friends, but making it clear in your promotional material, gift guides, and website design, that these items are intended for them. Tag products under categories like ‘Gifts for friends under $50’, ‘Palentine’s products’ or ‘Treat yourself’.
How this looks in action: 1-800-Flowers self love campaign
1-800-Flowers, a flower and gift dropshipper, stood out from their peers by running a marketing campaign all about female friendship rather than romantic love. Their Galentine's Day Campaign featured two women talking about their friendship, how they met and what they love about each other.
Why it worked
It’s a simple concept that resonated with a huge portion of their audience, who had previously been ignored by v-day campaigns. There was also a natural call to action at the end for viewers to share the love by posting under the hashtag and sending flowers to their bestie. The success of their campaign is testament to how Valentine’s Day is a crucial time in e-commerce to celebrate love in all forms.
Marketing idea #3: Work the anti-Valentine’s angle
If you’re looking for a unique Valentine’s promo angle, this could be the one for you. The Valentine’s Day haters argue that the event is over commercialised and cheesy. You could challenge yourself to appeal to even these scrooge-like shoppers by positioning your store as an anti-Valentine’s hero.
How this looks in action: Cadbury 5star
Cadbury 5star launched a "Destroy Valentine's Day" Campaign last year that encouraged uncles to jump on the Valentine’s trend to make it so uncool, it would end the holiday once and for all. So the day could instead be spent eating chocolate and doing nothing.
Why it worked
Humour cuts through and this campaign is both memorable and funny enough to get even the most reluctant customers on side.
Marketing idea #4: Treat your loyal customers with post-Valentine’s Day promotions
Be strategic with your post-Valentine’s comms. Consider giving loyal customers a discount or small thank you gift to encourage them to return post Valentine’s Day. This helps build trust, drive sales, and create lasting relationships beyond the day of love.
How this looks in action: Kate Spade
Jewellery brand Kate Spade sent loyal customers an email with the gift of an extra 30% off already discounted Valentine’s sales products.
Why it worked
Everything from the opening line ‘hey valentine’ to the discount code, is a gentle thank you rather than a hard sell. It’s the kind of messaging that will keep shoppers coming back well after v-day.
Bonus tip: Nail your Valentine's Day email marketing campaigns
A solid email strategy goes a long way in effectively capturing both existing and potential customers around Valentine's Day. Here are some email marketing ideas and best practices to help you promote your offers:
Build your email list before the rush
Start collecting emails early so you can reach last-minute shoppers who are buying gifts at the eleventh hour. Offer a free guide or early access to Valentine's Day promotions in exchange for signing up to your email list.
Segment your email campaigns
Don't send the same message to everyone. Segment your email list by categories such as:
- New customers vs. loyal customers
- People shopping for significant others vs. those shopping for friends
- Last-minute shoppers vs. early planners
Optimize your comms for last-minute shoppers
Send a dedicated email to attract last-minute shoppers on February 13th highlighting:
- Limited-time shipping options
- Gift ideas that can be delivered instantly (like digital gift cards)
- Local pickup options
- Day-themed products perfect for last-minute purchases
These shoppers represent a significant portion of Valentine's Day sales.
Where to start
You don’t have to implement every strategy at once. Pick the tactic that will work best for your store and nail it this Valentine’s Day.
In our opinion, the easiest strategy that will have the biggest pay-off is collaboration. You can find thousands of quality stores to collaborate with ahead of Valentine’s Day on Syncio Marketplace. It’s a directory of more than 3,000 Shopify stores that you can search to find and connect with your ideal partner stores. By partnering up, you can grow together and transform your potential competitors into your secret weapons.
How to get started
Step one: Install Syncio
Step two: Set up your store’s marketplace profile
Step three: Search Syncio Marketplace to find your perfect partners.
.avif)