1© 2016 RICS Software

2© 2016 RICS Software

As a retailer, you’re always looking to bring more customers into

your store. What if we told you there were occasions every

month that could help you offer discounts and special events

that could bring more customers into your store? You’d probably

want to take advantage, right? As a partner to our clients, we find

it increasingly important to remind retailers of the opportunities

they have every month to drive more traffic.

Well the good news is, we’ve put together a calendar of monthly

occasions that you can add to your marketing plans to attract

more customers. The even better news? There are several special

dates every month of the year, giving you the power to pick and

choose which events fit best with your store and your audience!

Read on to find out what events happen each month and the best

ways to target your customers.

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CALENDAR

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• NEW YEAR’S: A new year means another year of

resolutions.

• MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY: National holidays

are always incredibly busy because of the amount of

people who have the day off. Draw those who have

the day off into your store with a promo.

• TAX-MAS (FEBRUARY-MAY): People receive their tax

returns during this time, which means they have extra

spending money! Make them want to spend it at your

store.

• VALENTINE’S DAY: Take the opportunity to spread

the love and show appreciation for your customers by

offering a discount.

• PRESIDENT’S DAY: This national holiday means a lot

more people will be out. Give them a reason to get out

of the house in February!

JANUARY FEBRUARY

• ST. PATRICK’S DAY: A fun occasion to decorate your

store and make it a party!

• FIRST DAY OF SPRING: Plant flowers out front and

make your store “springy” and inviting! If you’re still

looking to get rid of some of your winter inventory,

you could have a “spring cleaning” sale in your store.

• APRIL FOOL’S DAY: Play friendly and harmless

pranks on your customers!

• MARATHON SEASON: If you are a specialty running

retailer, your busy season is starting! Have you

thought about throwing a party for the running

community or offering deals on running accessories?

MARCH APRIL

• CINCO DE MAYO: Celebrate this Mexican holiday by

decorating your storefront and offering refreshments

to get people to come in and shop around!

• MOTHER’S DAY: Everyone is on the search for a gift

to give their mother. Help them to make this Mother’s

Day a meaningful one.

• MEMORIAL DAY: Most people have this federal

holiday off. Offer a Memorial Day sale!

• FATHER’S DAY: Think about offering a promotion on

all inventory that would make good gifts for dads.

• FIRST DAY OF SUMMER: Kick off summer by having

refreshments, snacks, and a sale at your store!

MAY JUNE

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• INDEPENDENCE DAY: Show your pride and celebrate

our country’s independence by decorating your store

with everything red, white, and blue! Make your store

and deals stand out.

• BACK TO SCHOOL: With all the kids heading back to

school, you can end summer with a bang! People are

always on the hunt for the best end-of-summer deals.

• TAX FREE WEEKENDS: Customers are incentivized to

flock to your store during this period of time to save

money and take advantage of not paying sales tax.

Give them a reason to stay and spend more.

JULY AUGUST

• LABOR DAY: There are always many Labor Day sales

in the beginning of September. Make yours unique!

• FIRST DAY OF FALL: Make your store “fall festive”

and serve hot apple cider and donuts!

• COLUMBUS DAY: While this holiday isn’t celebrated

consistently across the nation, many people have the

day off. Be prepared for some extra traffic to your

store!

• HALLOWEEN: Use this holiday to go all out! Serve

candy, have your employees dress up, and offer a

spooky special deal.

SEPTEMBER OCTOBER

• THANKSGIVING: With all of the retail events

surrounding Thanksgiving, you should take full

advantage! But don’t forget to promote your deals.

• BLACK FRIDAY: Don’t miss out on a chance to have

a unique deal to get people into your store.

• SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY: Partner with other

small businesses in your community to encourage

shoppers to stop by your store on this day.

• CYBER MONDAY: If you have an ecommerce site, make

sure you are promoting your Cyber Monday deals!

• FIRST DAY OF WINTER: Create a special deal during

the holidays for the winter solstice. Celebrate the

holidays without making it religious.

NOVEMBER DECEMBER

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EMAIL TIPS

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One of the best ways to tell your customers about what’s happening in your

store is through email marketing. Because you already have their contact

information stored in your POS and inventory management system, you can

easily access their email addresses. When sending an email to your customers

about special deals, events, holidays, etc., there are a few tips to keep in mind!

OPTIMIZE SEND TIMES:You need to be smart about when you send out an email. During work hours is probably the best time because

people tend to check their personal email throughout the day as well. You also should be cognizant of time

zones! If you use an email marketing software, they may tell you the optimized time to send an email on a

given day. This is something you could even test for yourself! See when you have gotten the best open and

click-through rates in the past and continue to send emails on that day or at that time.

PERSONALIZE:It’s important you are personalizing the emails that you send to your customers to make them feel more

appreciated and to build customer loyalty. You can segment your audience for targeted campaigns by running

reports that include specific criteria. Segments can include gender, geographic location, purchase history, etc.

KEEP IT CONCISE:As you probably know from receiving marketing emails yourself, you want the point of the email to be obvious.

You don’t want to spend time reading something that isn’t relevant to you. As a retailer, you should make sure

you share the deal, event, or the purpose of the email right away. You should also include it in the subject line,

but keep it catchy! Keep the email short and concise so that customers can quickly read it and know exactly

what the offer is.

8© 2016 RICS Software

TEMPLATES

9© 2016 RICS Software

We have created sample email templates that you can use when sending emails to your

customers about holiday deals, events, or special promotions you are having.

COME CELEBRATE (HOLIDAY) WITH US!

Stop by our store to enjoy refreshments and

a special treat. If you come in today we will

give you a free ____ with purchase. We are

also offering a special discount on ______

from now until (end date), so come and take

advantage of the deal.

We want to help make (holiday) the most

memorable one yet!

Check us out online at (web address).

Cheers,

(Store Name)

YOU’RE INVITED!

Come to our store on (date) and join the

festivities. This (day of the week) we are

having a (event). Get to know others in the

community and shop around. All night, there

will be a special discount on all _____.

Describe the event.

Give the details.

Cheers,

(Store Name)

HOLIDAY TEMPLATE

EVENT TEMPLATE

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