Annual Small Business Saturday® – Shop Local, Shop Small® Top Tips 2023
The past few years during and after COVID have changed the landscape for small business. Everything from adding curbside pickup, more delivery, and increasing online options. It is once again time to prepare for Small Business Saturday®. It always falls between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It was started in 2010 by American Express to help promote shopping local. One year later, the Senate approved a resolution to support the Shop Small movement and was supported by local officials in all 50 States. It is always the first Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year it falls on November 25th. It has continued to grow and gain traction with a day focused on promoting shopping at local brick and mortar along with online.
Consider not only what you will do special for Small Business Saturday®, plan your entire holiday marketing campaign. Think beyond just this one day – what will you do in terms of specials, inventory, reasons to return, and the overall customer experience to grow your business into 2024 and beyond.
Hard to believe but the weekend after Thanksgiving is right around the corner and the time to start planning and marketing is now!
1) Update Marketing Collateral with Fresh Ideas and Free Materials –AMEX provides a wealth of free content along with ideas you can customize to standout. They also have a few ~ 2 minute clips in #ShopSmall Accelerator Video Series with creative ideas on social media to level up your engagement and attract more customers. This year they have added targeted content for online, retail, dining, beauty in addition to the usual general content. Check out their assets and access all the available resources. Leverage social media hashtag’s #ShopSmall, #SmallBusinessSaturday, #SmallBizSat. Create a regular cadence to share your message. Make this an ongoing year-round initiative.
2) Be Found and Team up – Work with your nearby fellow businesses and create a game / scavenger hunt / incentive to stop by. Offer something special for that Saturday that you would not do any other time of the year. Check and ensure you are listed on the Shop Small Map® and create a listing if you are not. Team with your local Chamber of Commerce and other trade alliances. Many are considered Neighborhood Champions. Donating prizes such as gift cards to shine the spotlight on your business. Successful marketing drives foot traffic and ultimately repeat business.
3) Inventory and Increased Level of Customer Service – Ensure you have enough product for what you are promoting. This is the time to highlight your business and differentiate it via increased customer service and support with high quality interactions. Leverage your customer list and ask them to help spread positive information about your business. Encourage online feedback and respond promptly to it. Be engaged and plan the seeds for reasons to return to your business more frequently no matter online or physical. Offer Gift Cards for sale to help your current customers drive new customer traffic and incentives for repeat business.
Think through
I always encourage everyone to support small and local businesses year-round. Let’s do our part to keep our neighborhood and local businesses thriving.
Kick start with Small Business Saturday to set yourself up for a successful year end. 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® – Shop local and small business year-round!
Small Business
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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