Here’s a match made in heaven for you. Marketing and Valentine’s Day.

In 2019, the average American was expected to spend $221.34 on Valentine’s Day (according to finder.com). Outside of a few other key holidays, it’s one of the biggest spending occasions of the entire year. You don’t want to miss out.

Ready to set your Valentine’s Day marketing on the right course? Here’s four things to know.

You can market to anyone, not just couples. When it comes to Valentine’s Day, people aren’t just spending money on their significant others. Research from finder.com shows us that the average amount of money spent on kids for Valentine’s Day is $280.07. Others spend on their friends ($208.10), family ($146.24), and even themselves ($235.56). Some people spend nearly a hundred dollars on their cats ($95.90) and dogs ($81.56).

Millennial and Gen Z attitudes. The two youngest generations are still spending money because of Valentine’s Day. They’re just doing it in different ways than what we’ve come to historically expect (e.g. jewelry, flowers, etc.). Research from the National Retail Federation highlights some of these changing attitudes, noting that many of them are spending money on their pets (echoing finder.com above) and that they still have a taste for sweets. Interestingly, it notes that half of 18-24 year olds saying they were not celebrating Valentine’s Day intended to spend money on themselves for self-care, a personal gift, or to go out with friends. If you have a lot of younger customers, these are key attitudes to keep in mind for your marketing plans.

Strengthen your brand through charity. The running throughline so far is that Valentine’s Day presents more than just an opportunity to sell things to couples. It presents an opportunity to do more than sell, period. Valentine’s Day is all about love and caring for each other (and hearts). Because of that, it’s a great reason to support a charity that represents those themes. Courtesy of Network for Good, here’s a list of charities based on heart disease and prevention.

Men are spending more. According to data from the National Retail Federation, men are spending more than double what women are spending for Valentine’s Day ($229.54 to $97.77). This is a useful lens for which to frame your marketing. Even if you’re selling goods/services intended for women, it’s more than likely going to be the men who respond to your marketing efforts. To note, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t cater your marketing at all to women. Results can always vary depending on your customer base.

Valentine’s Day Marketing With CoGoBuzz

With CoGoBuzz, Valentine’s Day marketing gets a whole lot easier.

Our state-of-the-art digital marketing service gets the word out on all of your latest Valentine’s Day promotions directly to mobile devices. CoGoBuzz is powered by advanced WiFi, SMS, and Email solutions that are designed from-the-ground-up to engage and retain customers on the digital level, both in-store and out. Through a one-time login (via social media, email, or phone number) to your in-store HotSpot, our service automatically produces full customer profiles for every customer.

Send automated text messages at specific times, and leverage customers who’ve enrolled in your brand new text-based loyalty program. All of your customer profiles are integrated with your favorite marketing list, such as HubSpot, MailChimp, and Constant Contact, allowing you to segment your audiences, and send Email promotions to the customers most likely to give you their business for Valentine’s Day.

Click here to learn more about CoGoBuzz!

Have any experience in Valentine’s Day marketing? Sound off in the comments!