Yes it's time to get ready for Valentines 2014!

'Monkey Love' - Design by Sue Bowler CBA

I wonder why most people leave buying their Valentines Day gifts to the last minute? Maybe it's just human nature or because people are still in a post Christmas recovery mode or maybe it's because they have no idea what they should buy?

Valentines day is a strangely funny celebration as it means different things to different people...maybe a person has been in a long term relationship and the word 'love' is a familiar saying, however, there are those who's relationships are nowhere near using that word (LOVE) and they certainly don't want to send or give anything that is remotely soppy!

I love you Script Modern # 29133

Here's another Valentines conundrum, what do you buy a man? Buying for a woman is pretty easy, traditionally red roses, teddy bears or candies and chocolates are given, but for a man it's very different, there is no traditional gift. I know that when I ran my balloon business, I delivered more Valentines balloons to men than women!

Well the good news is that Valentines Day this year falls on a Friday, week day Valentines days are always better for sales than weekends!

So it's time to start your Valentine's campaign with a little over 4 weeks to turn it into the best every Valentines that you have ever had!

Love Psychedelic Daisies # 29341

Having a pre-determined range of Valentines designs that you want to promote and sell, is the key to success, with a big enough variation that will cater for everyones needs.

Your Valentines range should also span a variety of pricing points, bearing in mind that there will be those who really will not care how much they spend... especially if they order on the day and want you to deliver them too!

So how do I choose which balloons to offer, be very careful when selecting your Valentines range, everyone has different tastes and you have different 'groups' that you are catering for.

I have created 2 groups (there are many more designs available in the Qualatex Valentines 2014 collection, to download a copy click HERE (check that you download the correct supplement for your territory, balloons can vary from country to country).

Fun, young, light hearted...

Romantic, 'love-you', traditional...

It is important to create designs that covers both groups, otherwise you will not hit all of your target markets.

Designs

Why not create a menu of Valentines designs? Decide on your range - try and be different from everyone else around you and create a 'menu', it's very easy for your customers to select from a menu rather than having to work out which balloons to buy! It will also help you to work out what stock you will require, including the latex balloons and accessories, to complete the designs. If you look at my menu (which I have created for this blog), I have stated that prices start from, that gives me the ability to add more balloons into a design, or sweets/candy and other gift elements that I may have?

Look at the wording that I have used...adorable, perfect gift, beautiful, surprise, elegant, fun, all these words conjore up an image of what the gift will do for the recipient, remember, we don't sell balloons, we sell what the balloons do - bring happiness and smiles, create embarrassment or excitement (especially when delivered to an office), these factors are all very important to the person placing the order.

Your menu can be made into a flyer along with your company details, you can put it on your Business Facebook Page, Pinterest and your website and of course you will make up each of these designs and have them on display in your stores and store windows - show what you want to sell and make sure that you have your designs clearly priced (items not priced are obviously too expensive- or so we think!) Make sure that everyone has the opportunity to see what you have on offer this Valentines day... it's truly worth the effort!

It's time to start now, get creating and get your Valentines campaign off to a great start!

Don't forget to check out the Qualatex Valentines Business Booster for some great design idea's and to download the free Valentines poster that you can use in your stores and on your websites!

There are some great step by step designs available for Valentines, check out some of my previous blogs that include some great Valentines design ideas, click HERE for a direct link.

Happy Ballooning!

Sue
www.suebowler.com