Easter and your business

Easter may not seem as big a gift giving occasion as Christmas and Mothers Day, but it is still a commercially viable event each year.

Consider all the Easter Eggs and hot cross buns that are consumed each year …

Obviously, if you sell chocolate products, Easter is a big business event; other businesses can also utilise Easter as a promotional tool.

Remember that Easter is more than Easter Eggs – and that not everyone actually eats them anyway. Think about other aspects of Easter for originality and relevance.

Some ways you can bring Easter into your business include:

• Demonstrate how your products can be used as Easter gifts or for Easter entertaining
• Provide information sheets about how to use any of your products for Easter (eg if you sell eggs, explain how to empty and die them; if you sell timber, have some rabbit hutch plans available.)
• Give Easter eggs to your customers, either in with their purchases or have a bowl accessible to them to help themselves.
• Send Easter cards to your clients
• Make your April newsletter themed to Easter – add Bilby graphics, a picture of some eggs and an Easter greeting; for something extra, add a colouring page for children, shape the newsletter like an Egg or bilby or include an  Easter story or article
• Have an Easter competition
• Serve hot cross buns to clients that week
• Use themed paper to wrap purchases
• Decorate your business with coloured eggs and/or Easter pictures
• Add Easter eggs or chocolate products to your range for a month or so
• Make a range of Easter products and display them – offer them for reduced prices or free if appropriate
• Invite regular clients to an Easter Bilby (or Bunny) visit, complete with eggs and maybe photos of children with the Easter Bilby
• Have a pet rabbit on display, and maybe available for children to hold and pet
• Have an Easter Egg or treasure hunt at a designated time
• Add Easter graphics to your web site, brochures and the like
• Have an Easter sale/special
• Give out Easter stickers or balloons printed with an Easter item
• Sell some hand crafted Easter cards
• Attach a little Easter chicken or bunny to products on display
• Run a demonstration or class on dying eggs, making cards, baking hot cross buns
• Produce or display a list of local church service times for Easter
• Supply recipes for Easter traditions around the world –Tsoureki (Greek Easter bread), Kolache (Bulgarian bread) or Pisanki (Polish Easter Eggs) for instance

Tash Hughes is a Mum of two in Melbourne. She is also a writer and owner of Word Constructions. Tash is available to write articles and profiles for any business, as well as doing other business documentation projects. You can see her site and services at www.wordconstructions.com