Small Business Saturday, November 27, is just a few weeks away and it should be a date marked on the calendar of small business owners across the country. A vast majority of Americans start their holiday shopping in November, so this is a great time for small businesses to start the season off the right way. This is an important day to take advantage of, and here are a few things to help you do just that!
Make Yourself Marketable
Word of mouth and social media are huge ways to grow your business. You may see an influx of customers on Small Business Saturday so be prepared to give them a memorable experience so they can easily spread the word about your business. This could be something like a small thank you card included with every purchase that has your website and your social media handles on it. Anything that a customer can use to refer a friend to your business or come back themselves is key. You may also want to consider a creative marketing plan. Start building the hype for Small Business Saturday on your social media channels a week or two leading up to make sure people know you’re an option.
Discounts and Deals
Shoppers love holiday deals. This time of year sees the most consumption by shoppers because they’ve already budgeted for it and are in the mood to spend. This can easily be capitalized on by throwing out a few deals or discounts in your store. Even if you can’t afford to provide a discount without breaking even, a small discount can still do the trick. Consumers feel good knowing they didn’t pay full price for an item even if the discount isn’t significant. On the other hand, sometimes it may be a good tactic to take a loss by giving a generous discount on a popular item. This can attract more traffic to the store and in turn produce more sales of other items to offset that loss. This is also a great time to stock up on popular items. If you know you have a best-seller that you’re going to discount that day, it is best to make sure you have the inventory to handle the potential surge in sales.
Extend Hours and Staff Up
If you have the staff available, try to have a few more employees come in and extend your hours. This could increase traffic by giving customers more time to come to your store and having a smoother experience with more employees able to help them. If you are able to do this, make sure to explicitly state that you are extending your hours in your marketing materials.
Partner Up
If other small businesses near yours do complimentary services this could be an amazing time to partner up. You could offer special discounts for shopping at both stores or even sell products in bundles. This is a great opportunity to increase revenue for both companies and build a great working relationship.