Birthdays Are Unique Opportunities! Use them!

Haven’t used birthdays as a business strategy? Tips on how to boost sales and productivity just because it is someone’s birthday!

Photo by Morgan Lane on Unsplash

Last week was my birthday. Even if I was the type of person to be completely numb to my birthday, reality is that, during the day I received dozens of messages, phone calls and emails to celebrate my birthday. These affected my productivity big time! It not only affects me, but affects everyone around me: people interrupt their day to come and greet me for my birthday, so I was a distraction to anyone in my team. I affect someone else’s productivity.

Birthdays and productivity

Birthdays always affect an employee’s productivity. Question is: what is your company doing about it?

Yes, studies show that being focused on the employees happiness, boosts morale and increases retention. But if you are someone that needs more than this as an argument know that many companies already realized that an employee’s birthday means also a very unproductive and atypical day. So, instead of ignoring it, why not embrace the fact that it’s a special day for that employee and do something about it?

Here are some ideas based on best employer of choice awarded companies:

1. Allow the employee to take the day off – after all, if productivity drops by 50-60% and interruptions tend to happen during these celebration days, what is the point of making that employee work on these days, anyway? The employee will feel special, regarded and would be even more productive when they come back;

2. Schedule these days in your team’s calendar – if you already know, as a team leader, that the productivity of your team is going to be affected by someone having their birthday, schedule that in. Ensure during that day that people in your team are doing light duties, or even team building activities, etc. It is an indirect way of celebrating the birthday but at the same time you know that the productivity would be dropped anyway if you didn’t do any of this. So ensure it’s part of your resource allocation planning.

Birthdays and sales boost

If you look at a birthday from a commercial perspective, people feel like treating themselves with something special on their own birthday. Why not use that to your advantage? After all, it is highly documented that marketing and birthdays should go hand in hand.

Here are some ideas if you want to use birthdays on a commercial level:

  1. If you have a customer’s email and DOB, use it! Imagine that your customer works in an organization that allows them to take a day off? They will likely have time and chances increase they will spend some money to pamper themselves!
  2. Make it last – If you do happen to have a customer with a discount voucher rocking up, make that feeling last by extending the idea to other members of the family. It can be by collecting other DOBs of that customer’s family members or just by simply offering a referral voucher. Be creative!
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“The key is to set realistic customer expectations, and then not to just meet them, but to exceed them – preferably in unexpected and helpful ways.” Richard Branson

Regardless if for commercial benefit, or simply to factor in maintaining productivity levels up, always take note that birthdays are important and should be an important part of your business strategy!


I also write about my own life ,professional experience and learning curve. I am a continuous improvement learner so I welcome you to share extra information and spread awareness with me if you have other ways of analyzing the same issues or you have value-added information to the readers of this article. Thank you for reading.


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