Raksha Bandhan, a cherished festival celebrating the eternal bond between siblings, presents a golden opportunity for eCommerce brands to not only connect with their audience on an emotional level but also to enhance their sales.
As this traditional Indian festival approaches, eCommerce businesses have a chance to leverage the spirit of Raksha Bandhan and craft innovative marketing strategies that resonate with the essence of sibling love and gift-giving.
If your target audience is Indian consumers and you are looking for creative ideas to boost your sales this Raksha Bandhan, then this article is for you. In this article, we will delve into a myriad of creative and impactful Raksha Bandhan marketing ideas that successful D2C eCommerce brands are using to maximize their sales.
Ready? Let’s get started.
1. Refine your store website design
People should get a festive vibe when they land on your website. So, make sure that you add more Rakhi elements to your store. Here are some ideas you can consider –
- Update your brand logo with the Rakhi theme
- Update sliders with Raksha Bandhan wishes and offers
- Update the category pages with rakhi-related offer pages
Take a look at how Ferns N Petals have revamped their entire home page based on the theme of Rakhsha Bandhan. You can see how they have updated the slider on the home page narrating the bittersweet sibling story of love!
By implementing these ideas on your website, you can enhance the shopping experience for your customers as it makes it easier for them to find the right products for Raksha Bandhan. It will also cast an impression on your customers that you care about their festivals and happiness.
2. Offer Rakhi-special Packaging
Rakshabandhan, a brother buys gifts for his sister(s). So, when customers shop on your site, make sure that you offer them special gift packaging. If possible, allow them to add a personal note to that gift.
By doing this, you not only provide an extraordinary gifting experience to your customers but gain a forever loyal customer.
The superhit example of the impact a rakhi-special packaging can create is Cadbury’s personalized Celebrations Rakhi Gift Box.
Every year they come with their old yet special chocolates and a new story touching their customers’ hearts. And earn tons of profits for they have become the safest go-to gifting brand!
You might think it will be expensive to curate your brand-based rakhi packaging, well it can be, but customers will be willing to pay for such a personalized experience. So, go for it and allow your customers to send gifts with beautiful packaging to their siblings.
3. Offer Rakhi-special discounts
It is essential to not just sell but resonate with your customers’ pockets. It is a matter of fact that they will love to spend this time of the year if yours is a quality product.
So focusing on quality products while offering special discounts for your customers can be a win-win for both parties. Some of the best offer ideas for Rakhi are as follows –
- Create a Rakhi-special discount code ( like Rakhi20 for a 20% discount) for Rakhi-related products
- Offer Faster Shipping options for free or at a discounted price
LeafyAffair is a unique floral jewelry brand that is offering special discounts on their Floral Rakhi Collection – customers can get up to 25% discounts on their cart (check the announcement bar on top).
The best part is that the brand tried to kill two birds with one stone by ensuring a great launch of their new range of products for men’s floral bracelets just before Raksha Bandhan. And, it seems they hit the mark successfully.
However, you don’t have to launch a new product, just offer them an attractive discount on the products they might want to buy for their siblings. By doing this you will definitely drive more sales, but most importantly build lasting relationships with most of the customers.
4. Offer special rewards to your loyalty program members
If you run loyalty programs on your eCommerce store, festivals are a great time to reap the benefits of it. You can offer special rewards for your loyalty members.
By doing so, you will allow them to redeem their loyalty points, which can help you attract lost or inactive customers. And, seeing such attractive offers for loyalty members, more customers may sign up for your loyalty programs.
Some Raksha Bandhan Special Rewards can be –
- Early-bird discounts on Rakhi or related products
- Additional discounts than non-loyalty members
- Sibling-bundle discounts
- Special Gift vouchers
- Discount bonus for Refer-a-Sibling for both parties
If you don’t have a loyalty program for your online store yet, Raksha Bandhan would probably be the right time to get started. Here are a few articles to help you get started –
- How to start a successful eCommerce loyalty program
- Best Shopify loyalty program apps
- Best WooCommerce Loyalty reward plugins
5. Create Rakhi-special Product Bundles
Customers love it when you have already cherry-picked all that they love and collated all of it in one place. It is just easier to buy, saves time, and minuses the bulkiness of ordering different products.
Check out how Nova Nova is excellently making hay while the sun shines with their delicious product bundles at a discounted price.
Customers can buy a bundle as a gift for their siblings without having to pick different flavors individually. Similarly, Phool has prepared two different Raksha Bandhan special bundles for sisters and brothers, making it easier for customers to pick one for a gift.
Bundling products together at a slightly reduced price compared to buying them individually creates a perception of getting more value for the customer’s money. This can encourage customers to make a purchase because they feel like they’re getting a deal.
And, during Raksha Bandhan, it makes their gift shopping easier without having to spend time choosing different products to create a bundle. So, make sure, you have some product bundles ready in your store based on your customer preferences.
6. Sell Rakhi-special Gift Cards
Not everyone is good with gifting. So, allow them to buy and send gift cards to others. You can also offer discounts on Gift cards to make it more appealing for customers.
For instance, this KDS Art Store is all prepped up for Raksha Bandhan by offering a 21% discount on their gift cards ranging from ₹5000- ₹10000.
Similarly, you can offer a Rs. 1000 worth of gift card at a 10% or more discount. Most importantly, allow them to send these gift cards directly from your store to their loved ones ( in this case, siblings) via email or SMS. This way, they will have the code with themselves to redeem whenever they want.
If you are a Shopify merchant, you should check our list of the best Shopify gift card apps that you can use to sell gift cards from your store as shown above.
7. Offer Free Shipping
This is basic. You have to and should offer free shipping once your customers shop for a certain amount. And if it is a festival like Rakhi, there can be no excuse for not providing an option for free shipping.
You can set a minimum cart value to be eligible for free shipping. This way you can upsell other products to increase average order value. In upselling, you can recommend products related to the customer’s shopping cart or even offer them bundles with attractive discount values.
You should use pop-ups and announcement bars to highlight free shipping offers across your site. Shipping costs can sometimes deter potential customers, and it can help overcome that hurdle. You will learn how to use pop-ups to your advantage in the next section.
8. Use Pop-ups to Promote Time-Limited Offers
Pop-ups can be a boon for your online store if used correctly. Personally, I absolutely hate how the HealthifyMe app uses popups to display notifications. Whereas, it is a complete treat when the pop-up introduces me to the offers I have been craving for.
You can use popups to display limited-time Raksha Bandhan discount codes or offers. This creates a sense of urgency and encourages visitors to make a purchase. For instance, “Get 15% off on Rakhi gifts for your sibling today!”.
There are various ways you can take advantage of this feature. For instance, you can add exit-intent popups to offer them a last-minute Raksha Bandhan deal or a discount code to entice them to stay and complete their purchase.
Further reading –
9. Create Rakshabandhan Gift Guides
Just take a look at this adorable Raksha Bandhan gift guide for kids by FirstCry. If you go through it, you will see how smartly they have not just given gift ideas but have linked their products to ease buying for their readers.
Similarly, you can create gift guides based on your product catalog and add links to respective products to help readers find them easily. However, you should promote your products as your guide should be designed to help customers with their problems and shouldn’t be just used as a marketing copy to promote your products.
Once you create gift guides, you can convert them into eBooks and promote them on social media to create awareness and generate leads for Raksha Bandhan’s marketing campaigns.
10. Optimize your cart-recovery emails
You must have automated cart-recovery emails in place for your online store. And, it must be working fine to reduce shopping cart abandonment. If you haven’t set it up yet, you should consider doing it right away.
However, during Raksha Bandhan, you can go more creative with your cart recovery emails by offering Rakhi-related discount codes, reward points, and product recommendations. You can also play with the email copy and design to provide an overall Raksha Bandhan shopping to your customers.
Beyond that, you can also consider optimizing your email campaigns for upselling and cross-selling with Rakhi-related product recommendations and copy for better conversions.
11. Leverage Social Media for Promotion
While social media ads can be a great way to remind your audience of your brands, you can leverage social media in many more ways to promote your brand and products.
Some of the ideas for promoting your brand depending on your products can be:
- Create creative content. It is important to not just sell but have your customers engaged with you when you are not selling with stories that mean something to you.
- Utilize Instagram and Facebook Stories to share bite-sized content, behind-the-scenes moments, and quick product showcases that disappear after 24 hours.
- Share creative Rakhi-making ideas, personalized gift suggestions, and DIY videos to inspire your audience and position your brand as a source of thoughtful gifting solutions.
- Encourage customers to share their Raksha Bandhan celebrations using your products. Repost their photos and videos, giving them a sense of recognition and building social proof. User-generated content connects you directly with your customers.
- Incorporate popular and relevant Raksha Bandhan hashtags in your posts. This increases the visibility of your content to users searching for Rakhi-related topics.
These are only a few ideas from the pool of a million. You can also run paid ad campaigns to promote your offers across social media sites to create awareness and attract new customers.
12. Send Rakhi Wishes via Email & SMS
You can use these communication channels to tell your customers that you care. I really enjoy brands wishing me festivals bringing back my childhood nostalgia. Last year, when I got this email from Zomato, I was compelled to send my brother a treat.
Speak to your customers such that it not only makes them aware but also brings you closer on special occasions. That is how you will become indispensable in their lives this Raksha Bandhan.
13. Collaborate with influencers
You should reach out to influencers individually with personalized messages. Do not forget to highlight why you think they’re a great fit for your campaign and how their participation would benefit both parties.
You should allow influencers creative freedom to showcase your Rakhi products in their own unique style. This authenticity makes their content more relatable and engaging for their followers.
One important tip here is: Provide the influencers you are reaching out to, with exclusive custom discount codes or special offers for their followers. This gives their audience an incentive to make purchases while you can easily track the influencer’s impact on sales.
For more tips and guides, you should read our complete guide on eCommerce influencer marketing. In this guide, we have covered everything you need to run a successful influencer marketing campaign for your online store.
Ready to level up your Raksha Bandhan marketing campaign?
Raksha Bandhan presents a golden opportunity for eCommerce brands to forge deeper connections with their audience and showcase the essence of sibling love and care. The bittersweet sibling relationship has evolved universally to care about one another while having the craziest fights ending in bouts of laughter years later.
When you, as an eCommerce business owner, decide to participate in this festival, you become a part of the pristine story between the siblings. By curating campaigns that capture the sentimental value of the festival, you can transform simple products into cherished tokens of affection.
Whether celebrating virtually or in person, the opportunity to weave your brand into the fabric of this beautiful tradition is a chance to be a part of treasured memories that last a lifetime. And, I hope this article helped you find inspiration for your Raksha Bandhan marketing campaigns.
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