5 Last Minute Small Business Saturday Ideas
Small Business Saturday is almost here – are you ready?
After the shopping madness that is Black Friday, it’s time for small businesses to get some well-deserved love. Small Business Saturday, happening this year on November 28, is a day when consumers go out and support their favorite local businesses.
The event was started by American Express in 2010, in support of local independent businesses, and participation has only grown each year. In 2014, for instance, 88 million consumers spent an estimated $14.3 billion on the day.
Participating in Small Business Saturday is a great way to bring more customers and profit to your business. But, if you haven’t started planning for this event yet, worry no more. Here are five last-minute Small Business Saturday ideas to get your ready for the big day.
1. Create a Personalized Small Business Saturday Offer
Shoppers are going to look for good deals on Small Business Saturday, and you need to come up with creative ideas to attract customers to your business. Create an exclusive offer, just for this day that is relevant and intriguing for the people you are trying to reach.
For example, limited-time offers are a great way to make your customers feel special and to create a sense of urgency that will speed up the buying process. Offer gift wrapping between specific hours only or create a limited time BOGO promotion. You can also create an “early bid” promotion for shoppers who visit your business early in the day or a special coupon that expires at close of business on Small Business Saturday.
If you run an online business, you can offer generous discounts on some products or a free eBook, gift card or coupon with every purchase.
2. Save Time with Free Design Resources
You’ve left planning for Small Business Saturday to the last minute, and you don’t have time to design beautiful banners or landing pages from scratch. Luckily, there are tons of free design resources you can use. American Express, for instance, the sponsor of Small Business Saturday is offering free downloadable templates for promotional material, such as banner ads, Facebook covers or Twitter posts.
ONTRApages and Canva are some other great resources where you can find free beautiful design templates that are perfectly suited for Small Business Saturday.
3. Create a Hashtag to Boost Social Media Reach
Hashtags are a great sorting mechanism. They can increase awareness, get your content seen by far more people than just your followers, and boost engagement. One of the best last minute Small Business Saturday ideas is to create a relevant hashtag and include it in your social media posts. Encourage followers to use them too, and increase the chances of getting found by shoppers interested in supporting #localbusinesses on #SmallBusinessSaturday2015.
If you don’t know what hashtags to create, Twitonomy is a great tool that can help you find personalized hashtags that revolve around the content you post on Twitter.
4. Show Off Your Stellar Customer Service
The biggest shopping day of the year for small businesses is a fantastic opportunity to attract new customers and have them fall in love with you. The secret is to have stellar customer service during Small Business Saturday so that you can earn repeat visits from those same customers.
Make your customers feel special with personal touches, such as a thank you cards or a symbolic treat. If you run an online business, use live chats to offer online customers the same amazing experience they would get in-store.
5. Partner With Other Small Businesses in Your Community
What other great way to celebrate Small Business Saturday than to partner with another independent company in your community? Work together with a complementary business and create a fun event or a special co-branded offer for your customers. For example, if you are a bookshop, you can offer free coffee and tea from a local coffee shop in exchange for them handing out discounts to your business. That way, you will reach new customers and build awareness for your small business.
Small Business Saturday – Get Started Today
Small Business Saturday is a great opportunity for local businesses to promote themselves and get new customers. If you didn’t have time to plan a proper strategy, now it’s the time to start.
If you are having troubles with planning and implementing your strategy for Small Business Saturday 2015, Volume Nine offers affordable SEO and digital marketing services that can help local business grow.
What other last-minute Small Business Saturday ideas do you have? Share them in the comment section below.
