There are many cool opportunities to help you in the revenue department during the month of October. A potential side benefit internally…a boost to morale and productivity.    All good for bottom line performance.

We’ve selected 10 favorites:  

1. October 12 (observed October 11) – Columbus Day
2. October 16 (observed October 15) – Bosses Day
3. October 18 – National Chocolate Cupcake Day
4. October 30 – Haunted Refrigerator Night
5. October 31 – Halloween,  National Candy Corn Day & National Caramel Apple Day
6. Apple Month
7. National Book Month
8. National Chili Month
9. National Popcorn Poppin’ Month
10. Women’s Small Business Month

How can you use these occasions to boost business?

If you sell any of these or related products:

1.  Make up gift baskets for Bosses Day and put them on display at the front of your store the week leading up to October 15. This can be done inexpensively, but packaged creatively. Customers will love the convenience. 

2.  Set up a table at the front of the store with signage and associated products that you sell in celebration of :  Apple Month, Popcorn Month, Book Month, Chocolate Cupcake Day, Candy Corn Day or any of the other occasions listed above.

3.  Offer something special if you can –  like a discount on any chili-related item in your restaurant or store in honor of National Chili Month.  Or Buy One Flashlight, Get One Free promotion for staying safe during Halloween.

4.  Do a “Discover the  Discount” in honor of Columbus Day. When customers bring their items to the register ask them to pick a card out of the discount bowl. Then they can discover their savings. Make sure you post a sign at the front of your store promoting this discount. Add a picture of Christopher Columbus for a nice touch. 
 5.  If you are a woman with a small business, tweet about how you started your business. Ask others to share their stories. Get a dialogue going. Also, in your tweet tell customers if they come in and mention seeing the tweet they receive an extra 10% off their purchase.  
6.  Whatever special occasions you choose to highlight, and whatever associated discounts, be sure to announce them on your Facebook page.

7.  And to your e-mail subscriber list.

If you don’t sell any of these or related products,  you can build and nurture your community by doing things like: 

1.  Get a popcorn machine and keep it poppin all month.

2.  In honor of National Book month, sponsor a children’s book drive in your store and donate the books to a local Ronald McDonald house.

3.  On National Chocolate Cupcake Day, put out a plate of cupcakes and tell your customers it’s because they are so sweet.

4.  Sponsor a Halloween costume contest for kids or pets. Take pictures to post in your store or on your businesses’ website. Award a gift card to your store to the person or pet with the most creative costume.

5.  If you have a really fast promotional products provider, order glow-in-the-dark Halloween treat bags and safety tip bookmarks printed with your logo.  Pass these out to customers.

6.  For Haunted Refrigerator Night –  Get a dorm-size refrigerator and display it in your store. Fill it with plastic spiders (you may need to put the spiders in baskets or jars to contain them when the door is opened). Ask customers to guess how many spiders are haunting the refrigerator. The winner gets the mini fridge. This idea is quirky enough to bring curiosity seekers in by posting a sign saying “Visit our haunted refrigerator and you may win it!”
 

7.  Serve caramel apples on October 31  in honor of National Apple Month, Halloween and National Caramel Apple Day.

If you sell advertising…be sure to contact your clients with ideas on how to celebrate these October occasions.    They may not accept all your ideas but they will appreciate your creativity and commitment to bringing them results.  You’ll be delivering added value and setting yourself apart from the competition.

There you have it!  A month of  Cool marketing opportunities! Make it fun and see some serious results.

If you put any of these ideas to work this month, share your story and photos with Business Class Inc. We’ll post them for everyone to see just how your business boosted morale, productivity and maybe even the bottom line!

Note:  These are fun things to celebrate with your staff as well.

Also see:   10 Morale & Productivity Boosting Ideas for October Only

Copyright 2010 – Business Class Inc