Lovable Mothers Day Strategies – Ideas for Restaurant & Florist Marketing

Mother’s Day is one of the most important days in the florist and restaurant calendar. It’s estimated that consumers will be spending $18.6 billion for someone special this Mother’s Day! With this in mind, business owners are presented with a massive opportunity to increase sales by connecting with customers through lovable and cuddly marketing ideas.

The following ideas are a shortlist of some fresh and original marketing strategies to appeal to family members who plan to take mom out to dinner or buy them Mother’s Day flowers on this special day.

Mothers Day at the Restaurant

The Mother’s Day Menu

It’s one of the most popular restaurant days in the yearly calendar and should be given the appropriate importance for business owners who want to make the most of this opportunity. Providing a special experience brings customers in and keeps them coming back for Mother’s Day every year! Here are a few ways to make Mother’s Day an attractive event:

Special Mother’s Day Restaurant Menu

Creating a special menu for Mother’s Day is the most popular way to differentiate your restaurant from the rest. A special brunch menu or a set menu that is designed specifically for mom’s tastebuds is a sure-fire winner.

Below is an example of a brunch menu ad by the Millennium Restaurant in San Francisco that was placed on their website months before the event. Their unique menu was created specifically to appeal to mom’s taste.

Original source: http://www.millenniumrestaurant.com/

Advertising your menu on your Facebook page, website, or even creating specific online targeted banners and ads prior to the event, is a fantastic way to get your restaurant packed on Mother’s Day. It’s important that you beat other restaurants to the punch by getting your menu seen early by the most patrons. Another great idea for connecting with customers prior to Mother’s Day is by targeting local households with a menu advertisement or flyer for the special occasion. Plan to send them at least a week before May 12^th.

And if you’re wondering what to include in your menu, below is a great example of a menu by the Boathouse in South Carolina that suits the taste of mothers to a tee:

Original source: http://boathouserestaurants.bluekeyinc.com

Complimentary Offers

Mom should get special treatment on Mother’s Day. Create promotions that promise to give mothers a unique experience. Plan and execute these original ideas at your event and advertise them on all your marketing items:

• Provide flowers as mom walks through the restaurant door
• Provide complimentary drinks
• Giveaway an extra-special and extra-chocolaty dessert
• Provide special chef’s tastings with wine pairings

Special offers such as these are an effective way to get families to choose your restaurant. Make sure you advertise these features across all print, web, and social platforms weeks in advance. It’s also a good idea to advertise your menu and special offers on banners, posters, and other large format print products that will get seen inside and outside your restaurant.

Live Music

The promise of live music is always a good draw on Mother’s Day. Restaurants that provide a beautiful ambience with live jazz music, mariachi bands, pianists, violinists, or orchestral bands are offering a complete experience. Families are looking for that special moment. You can offer the opportunity to catch that memorable moment through the power of beautiful music. Give full details of your musical act on all your marketing materials.

Florist Promotion for Mother’s Day

Mothers Day is the second biggest day of the year for florists. As a business owner, you need to make your store stand out as the purveyor of the most amazing bouquets that will make mom weep with joy! With both web and print, you can get your store noticed.

Web for Flowers

Florists are relying more and more on social media with Pinterest and Facebook being particular targets for showing off your bouquets and spreading your promotional content. Here are a few ways to get the most from the web prior to Mother’s Day:

Florist Pinning & Facebooking

Create a Mother’s Day pinboard on Pinterest with arts crafts and other materials to bring people to your board and generate interest in your store. Create similar content for Facebook and post regularly to keep consumers thinking about the holiday and to encourage gift bouquet ideas.

The image below from TCU Florists in Dallas is the perfect example of a Pinterest board that is generating both related and unrelated Mother’s Day content but undoubtedly generating interest in the store for Mother’s Day:

Original source: http://pinterest.com/TCUFlorist/tcu-florist-mother-s-day/

Post pictures of your most fantastic arrangements on a regular basis on Facebook and Pinterest. Reserve your best photos to be uploaded at least once a day in the weeks before the event. Post both your expensive and inexpensive arrangements to attract all customer types.

Special Site Content

Create special content for mothers on your website weeks in advance of Mother’s Day to get eyes on your site. The UK website below, for instance, created a page with quotes about mothers and Mother’s Day that is sweet and sentimental – distinguishing it from other florist sites. The success of webpages and content is dependent on you putting in the time and taking the chance on it being indexed, pinned, followed, or shared.

Original source: http://www.seasonsflowers.co.uk/index/mothers-day

Special Bouquets for Mom

Create special price-points for different family members to make your bouquets more individually targeted. For example, a great idea would be to create a “Kids Bouquet for Mom” or a “Daughters Special Bouquet for Mom.” Branding your bouquets in this manner is a fantastic way to make your bouquets appear that little bit more special.

You could even offer special “Kid Pickers” events where kids are encouraged to pick and create their own mom bouquets in your store for a set price. Make the whole experience more personalized.

Put Your Offers in Print

Special events and offers need the right amount of coverage. If you have the budget, you should consider pushing out as many local flyers and mailers as possible before Mothers Day. Offer extra-incentive such as a 2-for-1 family bouquet discounts. By offering a decent discount, you are providing a better reason for people to choose your store.You should also utilize banners and other large format items to remind people of the special date. Half the battle with Mother’s Day marketing is getting people to remember this date and associating your business with this same date.

A big and colorful banner to bring in custom

Another great way to bring customers into your store is through coupons and other special offer items. A mailer with a special offer that promises great savings to the user is a tried-and-tested strategy to bring people into your store.

Send a special pop-out coupon mailer to bring customers to your florists