According to American Express and the National Federation of Independent Business, 108 million shoppers spent $12.9 billion in 2017! I’ll take a piece of that! Here are my top 10 tips on how to make the most out of Small Business Saturday:
- Update your social media pages and website – people will already be shopping with their computers, phones and fingers long before Small Business Saturday even start. Make sure your contact information is up-to-date, your promotions are front and center, and your payment processes are working You don’t want people to show up and then your payment system doesn’t work!
- Get excited – since Small Business Saturday generates so much revenue you and your team needs to be excited about this day and creating buzz. People are less likely to visit a store or website that shows zero excitement. Would you choose to go somewhere that seems boring?
- Use the free resources from American Express – they have a ton of flyers, resources and other marketing pieces you can customize here.
- Are you extending your hours? – consider bumping up your open or closing times so that customers have more time to shop. If you do this, remember to notify your customers via social media.
- Make Customer Service a top priority – now is a great time to retrain your staff on providing the best possible customer service. Shoppers who have a great customer experience are more likely to come back and visit again. And you know what – that’s free!
- Work on some incentives, promotions or bonuses – and no you don’t have to give away the farm! These can include raffles and small giveaways.
- Collect contact information – you’ll want to make sure you have a way to contact them for future sales, promotions and new products/services. Emails are a great way to connect with them!
- Encourage social media “check-ins” and selfies – have customers take a fun selfie and “check in” on your Facebook page. Chances are, they’ll be taking pictures of them having fun and smiling, so take advantage of their fun and free publicity. You could even offer a giveaway to those who “check in” too.
- Celebrate small businesses in general as well as your small business neighbors – this is a great time to promote shopping at all small businesses in your community and beyond. Make Small Business Saturday a “group” promotion!
- Use those hashtags – #ShopSmall and #SmallBizSat are just a few that will help connect and unite you with other small businesses across the wide-web.