5 Tips to Help Merchants Have a Successful Small Business Saturday

Date: November 13, 2014

The morning after Thanksgiving has become an unofficial holiday, a time for families to wake early, sit in traffic, compete with other drivers for decent parking spots, jostle with crowds and stand in line to buy things probably no one asked for or really wants. But if there’s anything good to say about Black Friday it’s that it leads to Small Business Saturday. This year’s event is Nov. 29.

NFIB says Small Business Saturday is a great opportunity for local shops and restaurants to not only profit from the post-Thanksgiving shopping rush but to showcase their businesses and find new customers who’ll return throughout the year.

Local merchants can make the most of Small Business Saturday by:

  • Promoting the event to their regular customers. Put a sign in your shop and flyers in bags reminding folks to come back the Saturday after Thanksgiving for special deals, and remind customers that shopping small can be a lot less stressful and a lot more pleasant than shopping at the chain stores.
  • Showcasing the merchandise that would make a great gift. Your customers will be looking for presents for themselves as well as for their friends and family. You might want to put a group of items on a table with a sign saying it would be perfect gift for Dad or a great gift for the grandparents. Restaurants can do the same thing by offering Small Business Saturday specials and promoting gift cards.
  • Stealing a page from the Black Friday playbook and offer “door busters.” The chains know a great way to drive shoppers into their stores is by offering special deals at different times of the time. There’s no reason a small business can’t do the same thing.
  • Staying on top of your social media. If you’re on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest, be sure to post often and promote any Small Business Saturday deals. You should also consider spending a few bucks to promote your posts. That way, people will be more likely to see them. Also, register your Small Business Saturday details at https://www.nfib.com/small-business-saturday. We’ll share them on our website and with our 225,000+ Facebook fans and 94,000+ Twitter followers.
  • Partnering with other businesses. There can be strength in numbers. You could partner with other merchants to buy advertising promoting the neighborhood as a shopping destination, or you could team up with other businesses on in-store promotions such as buy a dress here, save 10 percent on shoes down the street.

Whatever you do, you can’t afford to ignore Small Business Saturday. Last year, shoppers spent $5.7 billion at locally owned shops and restaurants on Small Business Saturday, according to a survey conducted by American Express and the National Federation of Independent Business. Last year’s total marked a 3.6 percent increase over 2012’s event.

Learn more at https://www.nfib.com/small-business-saturday.

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