As a small business, are you leveraging Small Business Saturday®? A holiday originally created in 2010 by American Express in partnership with the non-profit National Trust for Historic Preservation, it falls between Black Friday and Cyber Monday and helps promote shopping local. It is always the first Saturday after Thanksgiving, and this year it falls on November 30th.

Small Business Saturday has continued to grow and gain traction over multiple years and iterations. A day focused on promoting shopping in a local brick and mortar location is a big win for local businesses and retailers, and assistance from American Express due to their vested interest and trademark goes a long way toward making Small Business Saturday a big deal.

With the weekend after Thanksgiving coming up like a speeding locomotive, it isn’t too late to participate – in fact, the time to start marketing is now!

1) Leverage Free Content and Materials – If your business accepts AMEX, it will provide free materials that can be shipped directly to you – along with downloadable customizable content. Check out their site and access all the available resources. After all, who would have better marketing materials than the company that initially pitched Small Business Saturday? Some crisp graphics for posters and easy-to-use content for social media, at your fingertips. Plus, much of it can be used year round.

2) Team with your local Chamber of Commerce or other Alliance – Most Chambers of Commerce, and other Alliances or Associations that have small business members, typically invest in supporting Small Business Saturday. It’s a great way to get additional benefits from your membership, and provides opportunities to team up when possible – like fellow businesses donating prizes such as gift cards to help support an event, or cross-promotion and cooperation when planning something big.

3) Local Marketing – In addition to the free content referenced above, make sure to partner with other complimentary business. For small brick-and-mortar business, successful marketing drives foot traffic. Simple cross-marketing of flyers, specials, menus, etc. are low cost and quick to implement. For social media be sure to leverage Twitter hashtag’s #ShopSmall and #SmallBusinessSaturday and spread the work through other social media. Visit the official FaceBook page and leverage #ShopSmall on #SmallBizSat on your communications.

Think through

Always remember, attracting customers is only part of the sales equation. The other major consideration is the in-store environment and experience. Is it giving the vibe that welcomes repeat business? What are things you can do to attract new customers or ones that have not visited in some time and build your business for the long term? How can you differentiate yourself from all the noise during the holidays?

The year has flown by, but it’s not too late to leverage Small Business Saturday. Make “shopping local” part of your overall marketing message and year-round campaign. Would love to hear your ideas and success stories. Feel free to post comments or email them to me. Small Business, Big Lessons™ – Go small business!

 

Small Business

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About the Author:

Gregory Woloszczuk is an entrepreneur and experienced tech executive that helps small business owners grow their top and bottom line. Gregory believes in straight talk and helping others see things they need to see but may not want to with a focus on taking responsibly for one’s own business. He and his wife, Maureen, started GMW Carolina in 2006.

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