Well, it’s Valentine’s Day again and by the time you read this, there are only a few days left for you to get that special gift purchased – or are you one of those annoying people that have it done months in advance? I have to admit to shopping for Valentine’s Day   cards when the selection was so picked over I had to go with a generic CONGRATULATIONS card, spinning that on the inside by telling her how lucky she is to have ended up with me. Relax, I AM KIDDING!

 Last year I talked about the tradition of Valentine’s Day and why we need to be more focused on this holiday as an industry. I want to repeat that but try a little different approach. I am entering my last year as chairman of the Better Sleep Council (BSC) and I have to brag on those guys for a second. Karin Mahoney is our Director of Communications and works non-stop with our communications firm to help us build value in buying a new mattress, and she does a fantastic job. We recently conducted some research with couples to find out what kind of trouble there is in the bedroom. If you want to create some interest in the mattress category, this is great content to point to! Take a look at the top five issues that couples have:

1. Your partner kicks in their sleep, waking you up.
2. She likes it hot and you like it cold.
3. Your bed-mate snores.
4. Tossing and turning turns into “roughing the sleeper.”
5. One of you likes that cuddle time and the other is all about the ZZZ’s (who’s to say you can’t have sex and sleep?).

These are the problems and if you want the solutions, you are going to need to visit the BSC website referenced above. Is there an opportunity here for you to talk about your category? Have you created a special brochure the talks about a mattress in the context
of couples’ sleep? Have you done any special training with your sales force to brainstorm ideas on what to say and what not to say? Does your advertising capitalize on any of it? Does your website call it out? Are you helping to make a mattress relevant to consumers during this holiday?

If we can run sales and connect ourselves to Presidents Day, I am certain that we can make a big push on Valentine’s Day, but I rarely see it done in any big way. Give this some thought and see what you can do as we approach the holiday and remember, you only get one chance a year. (Unless you believe that Sweetest Day, a Hallmark Card conspiracy to pirate Valentine’s Day, is not in fact the exact same thing.)

Now turn off your computer and go hug and kiss your spouse and let them know how lucky you are. My grandfather, Harkey Quinn, was on the altar renewing his vows with my grandmother Loretta for their 50^th wedding anniversary in front of 300 people when my cousin Mike, who happened to be the priest, asked them to comment on what it’s like to be married that long. My grandpa said, “We have been married 50 years now and I expect that half of them have been pretty good.” I hope that at least half of your years together are as good as theirs were.

What are you doing to connect to this holiday? Tell me in the comments section below.