Want to grow your business sustainably? Then you know how important it is to build a relationship with your employees, prospects and customers.
Building a relationship means staying true to your brand, but also recognizing that life happens beyond the next sale. It means delivering the right message at just the right time to set your business apart from the crowd.
Back-to-school is a major event for parents and kids. It’s a modern rite of passage, a moment of transition, and can be a moment of stress and excitement for kids, parents and teachers. How many of us have been there before — whether as a parent or student — sitting up at night wondering what the new school year will bring? It’s a mix of nerves, anticipation, fear and excitement.
This moment is also an opportunity to connect with customers. It’s a time when the right message delivered in an honest and sincere way can not only provide comfort but build that relationship. Done right, it’s a tremendous business opportunity.
We’ve gathered some of the best ideas for back-to-school business campaigns. Every business is different, so you’ll want to personalize the message for your company, but these ideas will give your team a good place to start for campaign brainstorming.
Back-to-school is all about preparation and a lot of purchases. Pencils, notebooks, folders, lunch boxes and binders are common materials for the start of school and will see heavy use during the year. These are also promo items that can be branded and make a great gift or giveaway for a targeted campaign.
Make the biggest impact by purchasing a few essential back-to-school supplies and adding your brand or logo. Have them available for customers and prospects, and you know they will be shared and used. It’s a great opportunity to support students and parents and give your business brand visibility.
A note about back-to-school in your regular newsletter or a quick email campaign to customers and prospects can provide an opportunity for customer engagement and give you another angle for making connections.
Get a few quotes from the parents in your business about their back-to-school experience. Humanize your company, and let parents know they aren’t alone. Then, let your prospects know how your business can help.
Offering to help can also be a great way to leverage your products or services in a time of need. Again, this will be dependent on your product or service, but connecting what you provide to what your customers need is the goal of marketing.
Back-to-school is a lot of work for families. It can mean tight schedules, time being at a premium, lots of stress, and new opportunities as well. Look at how your brand and message can connect to those needs for an impactful promotion.
It’s not just your customers feeling the pressure at back-to-school time. Your employees may also be facing the new-school-year pressures. A quick back-to-school employee kit with supplies and stress relievers is a welcome gift this time of year.
Look at adding backpacks or lunch boxes, which anyone can use. Notebooks and an attached pen are not only good for students, but employees as well, so you aren’t forgetting the ones who aren’t parents.
Back-to-school is a mix of emotions for kids, parents and teachers. That can mean stress and anxiety as well as fun and excitement. As a business, consider connecting to positive emotions.
Center a campaign around fun. For example, offer a branded backyard game as a giveaway and promote the giveaway with a message that connects the fun and positive emotions of back-to-school. Incorporate jokes and humor with back-to-school as you present an offer or build your business brand.
Fresh marketing and innovative branding are critical to standing out in a crowded marketplace.
If you’re looking to build your brand, create a memorable customer experience or reward employees, then promotional products can help. Contact the promo experts at GO2 to find cost-effective and creative promo material for your next marketing campaign.