On December 7, 2018, the Alzheimer’s Society, UK will be celebrating Elf Day, a festive fundraising day where people where red and green and dress like elves to raise awareness about dementia. I mention this because many families, including my own, are affected by dementia, but this isn’t the Elf Day I wanted to talk to you about today.

ELF Day is something I discovered a few months ago at my local stationery shop. I went to feed my addiction to art/office supplies and noticed an ELF Day sign on the door, so I asked about it. ELF Day for them is Every Last Friday of the month where they offer their customers 20% off everything in the store. I’ve been back to the store on almost every ELF Day since. Below you can see my haul from today’s ELF Day - a couple of rulers and some tracing paper all for less than $12.

I thought this idea of ‘every last Friday’ of the month was brilliant and I’ve turned it into my own little celebration and I hope you’ll join me. Here are a few things I’ve learned from celebrating ELF Day.

It’s okay to treat yourself

We all deserve to spoil ourselves at least once a month. Once a week is even better, so pick a day that works for you and treat yourself. After I stopped at the stationery store to pick up supplies, I headed over to Starbucks and got myself a matcha green tea latte, something I don't splurge on very often.

Uniqueness is memorable

I’ve been to the stationery shop almost every ELF Day since I discovered it. When I couldn’t go, I still remembered it was the last Friday of the month. Incorporating a unique idea like this into your marketing strategy will help keep you on the minds of your customers. I’ve thought about offering sales during the month my books take place or on my birthday, but then I’d have very few sales.

The point is, once you come up with a unique marketing strategy, you’ll want to stick to it. Did you know that major retailers rotate their sales about every eight weeks? If you’re someone that watches the flyers, you’ll start to notice these patterns and be able to figure out when your favourite products are coming on sale.

Consistency is effective

ELF Day works because it comes around every month and customers have come to rely on getting their discount on that day. Another take on this is seniors’ days where, for example, the first Tuesday of every month, seniors get a discount.

Consistency is what works for fundraising campaigns like the UK Alzheimer’s Society’s Elf Day and others such as Movember that wraps up today. They are unique and people know that at a certain time every year, their favourite cause will be fundraising.

So, what will you do to celebrate ELF Day - treat yourself to something special, have a sale in your business? Let me know in the comments below.