How to make the most out of Valentine’s Day as a small business

Valentine’s Day brought in an impressive £2.1 billion in sales for retail businesses in 2024, with more than 6 in 10 under 34 year olds using the day to buy something nice for themselves. If you haven’t yet tapped into this revenue boost as an SME, we’re here to help you strategise and market yourself this 14 February.

Why should Valentine’s Day matter to SMEs? 

Valentine’s Day presents an excellent opportunity for a topical, timely marketing campaign that can help bring in additional revenue. For product-based companies, it can also provide an opportunity for creating and selling additional product lines featuring hearts, messages of love, and other relevant designs.

14 February is also an opportune time. Many businesses experienced a post-Christmas and New Year slowdown in sales, which can ease as February comes along. Leveraging seasonality to promote business can be a good way you embrace this reopening of revenue growth. 

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How to utilise Valentine’s Day for service-based businesses 

Valentine’s Day can be a helpful day to market your business. Here are some ways you can leverage it. 

Together packages  

Consider offering packages for two people or two businesses as a special Valentine’s Day deal. Let’s say, for example, you run a cyber security business that offers £1,000 packages for end-to-end monthly website security. You could offer businesses a £1,800 package if two businesses join together. This gains you more revenue, gives them a discount, and creates a sense of camaraderie between the three of you. 

Run a giveaway to create buzz

Consider running a giveaway. An example could be inviting clients to submit the answers to a survey asking about their best first date experience, how they knew their partner was the one, and how much they generally spend on Valentine’s Day. Publish the results (with your respondent's permission) as a way to get traffic visits, and give survey participants a gift card or voucher as a thank you and to help generate future sales. 

Offer a day out 

Whether you run a B2B or B2C business, a free in-person activity can be a fun, low cost way of embracing retention marketing and keeping current customers engaged. For instance, if you run an online yoga video business, you could choose to offer a special Valentine’s Day experience where your yoga students can meet you and other students in a park and enjoy a brisk morning yoga session, followed by a trip to the coffee shop for a hot chocolate. This can help build customer loyalty, encouraging them to connect your business to a nostalgic experience they remember fondly. 

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How to make the most of this holiday as a product-based business 

Product led businesses can use Valentine’s Day both for marketing efforts and product sales. Here’s how.  

Gift baskets 

Many couples, families, and young adults engage in gift giving for this holiday. Consider offering a collection of products together within a gift basket for them to share with loved ones. 

Seasonal products 

Similar to the above, Valentine’s Day can be a good time to offer seasonal products, including products featuring romantic designs, chocolate bundles, and even personalised inscriptions. 

Product boxes  

The publishing industry, like the makeup and cosmetics industry, has seen exciting growth in a new offering: book boxes. Book boxes are a subscription service. The provider sends a monthly book (or in some cases, several books and some reader paraphernalia) to subscribers, who get to enjoy a new surprise each month and feel part of a community. Readers discuss their new books online. 

As many businesses know, subscription services can be a helpful way to stabilise cash flow, as the monthly payments are recurring. As part of the Valentine’s Day excitement, you could consider offering a product box subscription service, which would span the year, with a special offer for customers starting on Valentine’s Day, along with a themed box to kick things off. This can be a helpful way to leverage Valentine’s Day to create long-term revenue. 

Marketing push on the day 

Lastly, be sure to use seasonal content to get people excited. TikTok trends, Instagram posts, and email marketing can all prove helpful in building up hype, just make sure to include lots of hearts, lots of red, and lots of love in your content. 

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Need funding to make the most of Valentine’s Day 

Stocking up on new inventory, running marketing campaigns, and creating new designs can all cost money, and you often don’t get to see the funds replenished until the stock has been sold and invoices have been paid. 

That’s why many businesses turn to finance options, such as invoice finance to unlock the cash from unpaid invoices, short-term businesses loans to purchase seasonal stock, and working capital loans to help smooth out low sales periods. 

If you’re interested in gaining access to a cash injection this February, click the link below and submit your information to see if you’re eligible for a loan ranging from £1,000 to £20M. 

Find a business loan.

Please note that the information above is not intended to be financial advice. You should seek independent financial advice before making any decisions about your financial future.

It’s important to remember that all loans and credit agreements come with risks. These risks include non-payment and late-payment of the agreed repayment plan, which could affect your business credit score and impact your ability to find future funding. Always read the terms and conditions of every loan or credit agreement before you proceed. Contact us for support if you ever face difficulties making your repayments.

Funding Options, now part of Tide, helps UK firms access business finance, working directly with businesses and their trusted advisors. Funding Options are a credit broker and do not provide loans directly. All finance and quotes are subject to status and income. Applicants must be aged 18 and over and terms and conditions apply. Guarantees and Indemnities may be required. Funding Options can introduce applicants to a number of providers based on the applicants' circumstances and creditworthiness. Funding Options will receive a commission or finder’s fee for effecting such finance introductions.