Marketing themes for April

March 15, 2011 - PRLog -- This month, shops on high streets everywhere are full of Easter eggs, fluffy chicks, Mothers’ Day cards and Spring time flowers.

You’ll know the trends that affect your own industry through the year, but there are some monthly themes that you may not think affect your business.

As part of a new monthly series on Perfect Balance Marketing I’ll be looking at the events, themes and colours that you can tie in with each month to keep customers and visitors engaged with your business.

Here are some of April’s upcoming events:
Spring is in the air – new beginnings, Spring cleaning, decluttering, fresh air.  I love the light evenings and the warmer days.  With Spring comes a sense of newness – new home interiors, new clothes, new shoes.  Clearing stuff away to sell at jumble sales, opening up the windows to blow the cobwebs away.

What might your customers be looking for that you can offer?  A new look, a home makeover, colour for the garden.  Make it clear how your business can meet their needs.

Gardening – last weekend we ventured into the garden for the first time since November – with mixed feelings.  The joy and optimism of the brightly coloured dancing daffodils versus the untouched and neglected weeds and overgrown borders.

The garden centres capitalise on this annual event that many of us go through around this time of year, by packing their shelves with vibrant flowers and garden maintenance tools.  Compost bags line the supermarket aisles, clothes shops replace Winter woolies with gardening gloves and lightweight jackets.

Review your product ranges and update them, and your key messages, to tie in with the desire for colour and the outdoors.

1st April – April Fools’ Day – Whoopee cushions, cling film on the toilet seat, fake dog poos on the lounge carpet – plenty of cheap and cheerful ways to put a smile on your loved one’s face (or a frown and a tut if they’re older than 8 years old and haven’t had a coffee yet).

Would any of your products fit into this light-hearted theme?  Maybe you could offer people an escape from the jokes and tricks with a personalised gift experience, or a luxury hamper of products to enjoy while they hide away from the pranksters?

3rd April – Mothers’ Day – One of the year’s major gift-buying events, this is when we show mum how much we care and what she means to us, by buying a pink card and a bunch of flowers…..

Yes, we should do this all year round, not just when the media tell us to, but there’s no escaping that Mothering Sunday presents opportunities for your business to meet demand – customer demand for personalised gifts, perfume, chocolate treats,  dining out, etc.

Offer “Mother’s Day must-haves” or “Top gift ideas for mums”.

And don’t forget to cater to those people who do forget – last minute gifts, guaranteed next day postage, and gift-wrapping make all the difference to most customers, whether they’re buying online or in person.

22nd April – Earth Day – This year’s Earth Day is organised around a billion acts of green – personal, organisational and corporate pledges to live and act sustainably.  This month is a good time to review your environmental policies and implement changes for the better.

Recycle, reduce your carbon footprint, raise money and raise awareness – there are plenty of free online resources to give you ideas, inspiration and support so you can contribute to Earth Day 2011.

Whether you plant a garden, take a home energy audit, or buy more of your food locally, we can all contribute, and you may even enjoy some free press coverage if you publicise what you’re up to.

You can register any local events you’re involved with on the website.

24th April – Easter Sunday – Kind of like Christmas, Easter has become one of those events that the supermarkets go crazy for.  Large family get-togethers, huge banquets of carved meats, chocolate egg hunts and yellow cheepy chicks.
Here are some ideas you could try:

- Hide some Easter eggs around your website and offer a prize to anyoneo who spots them all
- offer free printable pictures of Easter bunnies for children to print and colour
- provide downloadable organisers for busy families planning large gatherings
- suggest light-hearted reasons why people who work Easter bank holidays are the lucky ones
- publish treasure hunt clues that lead treasure hunters to common locations in the home (under a chair, in the garden, behind a curtain, etc.)

Tailor your Easter activities to things your customers may like – do they have kids, will they be working, would they prefer traditional Easter messages or the more modern commercial ones?  Plan ahead and make your business somewhere that relates to your customers’ lives and they’ll remember you when they next need what you’re selling.

29th April – The Royal Wedding
When Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their engagement, merchandising companies put into action the plans they’d had in place for years.

Hours after the news was announced, there were wedding tea-towels, china plates, paper napkins, and even commemorative condoms (Crown Jewels – I know) being ordered by companies eager to capitalise on the inevitable spending spree.

Most days the media share a new insight into the wedding of the year – what Kate will be wearing, who should be William’s best man, where should they honeymoon, how will they travel to the venue, who will be bridesmaids?

Interest in the couple (and their wedding on 29th April) is only set to grow.

Whether you agree with the general fascination with the William and Kate relationship, you would be foolish to ignore it.  You needn’t add to the tacky-ness of commemorative mugs, but you may want to refer to the big day in your marketing communications.

- Offer “Kate-&-Will-free-zones” if that’s what your customers would love
- provide links to the latest royal wedding gossip if they’d be interested
- design tongue-in-cheek t-shirts (“Will asked me first” or “Keep calm – there’s still one Prince left”)

Have I missed anything?  Add them to this blog post here: http://www.perfectbalancemarketing.com/2011/03/april-mark...

# # #

Lucy Thornton shows businesses how to use social media and the web to get more sales, more happy customers and more business. She posts regular articles on her blog giving marketing tips and advice on how to choose the right social media site for your business.

Lucy trains business owners and professionals on how to get results from Facebook, Twitter and blogging. She also offers business consultancy on marketing strategy, web design and search engine optimisation.

If you have any questions about marketing your business, you can email your questions to lucy@perfectbalancemarketing.com or visit her website (www.perfectbalancemarketing.com)