SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY 2015 #ShopSmall

By SBE Council at 18 November, 2014, 12:39 am

by Karen Kerrigan-

SBE Council has been a Small Business Saturday partner organization since its launch in 2010. This year, Small Business Saturday falls on November 29. The day encourages people to shop at small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Communities are tapping into this movement by hosting special events and promotions to help drive small business sales. Consumers are learning about the impact of buying local. Many  innovative and creative ideas have emerged from this event, which are helping Main Street businesses across America. Small Business Saturday has become a powerful event.

You can make Small Business Saturday a success for your business and your community. SBE Council has summarized some useful advice from a variety of sources below.  If you haven’t done much to plan or align your sales and marketing strategy around this special day, there’s still time to leverage the media attention, publicity and tools provided by Small Business Saturday to build a solid foundation for next year’s event.

Tips and Advice

Small Business Saturday Countdown Begins, Retail Minded Magazine

• Work with your local media to bring awareness to your store.
• Position yourself as a local leader, becoming a go-to resource for the media and other small businesses.
• “Save the Date” reminder to Shop Small on Small Business Saturday.
• Share interesting statistics about the impact of shopping small.
• Begin handing out or distributing incentives or coupons right now that are valid only on Small Business Saturday.

Read the full article here.

5 Ways to Prepare for Small Business Saturday, Small Business Administration

• Incorporate Small Business Saturday into your larger holiday campaign.
• Rally Your Neighborhood. Could your business become a neighborhood champion of Small Business Saturday?
• Learn from businesses that have taken part in Small Business Saturday. Read their experiences, learn some practical tips, get inspired!

Read the blog post here.

Big Ideas to Make the Most of Small Business Saturday, Business 2 Community

• Personalize, plan and promote: The Small Business Saturday site provides downloadable personalized email images, digital banners, images for social media and logos to post on your blog or website.  Access Small Business Saturday promotional material here.
• Have a “Shop Small” Soiree – plan a kick-off breakfast or event.
• Get Social. Use the hashtag #shopsmall on tweets.

Read the article here.

Your Step-by-step Marketing Road Map to a Successful Small Business Saturday, Laurel Main Street

• Inspire your audience, add value, and offer an extra for every purchase during that day: free gift-wrapping, free necklace, free Christmas ornament, etc.
• Give a free gift for every referral.
• Provide an experience worth talking about. Entertain customers and be present the entire event.
• Evaluate your success: Did you reach your goal? Did you inspire your audience to action? Did you use all available resources? Did your customer enjoy the experience of shopping with you?

Read the article here.

Small Business Saturday: What Worked and What Didn’t, Forbes.

• Offer AMAZING deals. This is a one-day event that will help increase sales. Connect with customers you haven’t heard from in a while.
• Try something new. Try some variety.
• Create Urgency. Make sure your customers know THE DEAL is only for Small Business Saturday.
• The event is gaining traction each year. You can make Small Business Saturday work for your business and get a piece of the Holiday Sales pie.

Read the article here.

Small Business Saturday is a great way to attract and find new customers, and reward loyal ones. Why not leverage the massive publicity generated by the day to help drive year-round sales?

Here’s wishing you big sales for the holiday season, and a strong finish for 2014!

Karen Kerrigan is president & CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council). Cynthia Cardoso contributed to this article.