How to Use Small Business Saturday to Fuel Sales Into The New Year

Now is the time for you to engage your holiday shoppers especially if you are a small business owner. Yes, everyone puts a big emphasis on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but what about Small Business Saturday? Held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving annually since 2010, Small Business Saturday puts local, independent businesses in the spotlight and encourages consumers to include them in their holiday shopping destinations. The weeks leading up to the December holidays are important. How can the locally owned business gear up to boost sales and attract customers for the weeks ahead?

Here are 5 key Strategies to make your Small business Saturday a success this year:

1. Make sure to market unique holiday Items: This is where you, as an independently owned establishment, have a big advantage over the big business box stores. You can stock unique items all year round  that they don’t offer - use this to your advantage. This holiday season should be where you strive to capitalize on these specialty items. Getting your store’s name out there is rather easy especially within your local area. Using a local charity to advertise your unique gifts by word of mouth in your community is a great way to get people to come see what you have by giving away gift cards or gift certificates.This should bring in regular and new customers. Another way is to partner with locally  independent artists such as craftsmen, screen printers and other professionals in your local area. They tend to provide unique goods one cannot find anywhere else, which will help in stocking unique one of a kind gifts.   

2. Make sure you have engaging online content: Keeping up with your website content is very important. Making sure you have a lot of photos and holiday suggestions and blog talking about what you have and how to use the products in creative ways will keep the potential customers engaged and liking what they see. Use different types of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to allow the customers to see your holiday wares, but make sure to use these other effective methods as well: email marketing, mobile marketing and text messaging. Remember to be creative with your displays, pictures and layouts. This is a way of giving customers ideas for what you offer. This will also give them ideas for what they would like to do as far as seasonal entertainment, dining and decorating or gift ideas.

3. Make it personal: Personalizing offers are something you, as a small business, can offer that the big chains can’t compete with. Chain retailers tend to have the one size fits all mentality when it comes to holiday offers and sales. Local independent businesses can take advantage and customize their holiday marketing to include compelling, personalized offers during  the holiday that are tailored to the unique buying habits and preferences of their customers and other members of their target audiences.Know what you customers are already geared to buy towards is the most effective way to be prepared yes you tend to find new customers but it is always good to make sure to have staples that will keep customers coming back again and again.
4. Help your Customer through suggestions: Don’t automatically assume that your customers know what you have, or even what they want, during the holiday season. Remember to send them helpful reminders of what you offer. Let them know you enjoy and appreciate their company, as well as their loyalty. Send them a coupon and a holiday card let them know you offer gift cards or certificates to your store, and give them a preview of  what you have for regular items as well holiday gift ideas. Use online and offline marketing channels to make specific suggestions pairing what you have to sell for their co-workers, friends, family members, party hosts, teachers and others that might be on their gift list during the holidays.

5. Give them a reason to come back: Use different types of online marketing as well as customer contact information so you can send them a reason to come back. Offer a bounce back offer in the new year or even another one before the holiday. Either way, be sure to punctuate a reward that will be redeemable at their next visit, whether it be before the holiday or in the new year the idea is to keep yourself visible to them so they will keep coming back to see you.

Using these 5 key strategies will allow you to engage your customer as well as keep them interested in the unique gifts you can offer them this holiday season. Make sure to keep it personal by showing them that you appreciate their customer loyalty and allowing them to see that you give a personal touch to their experience, which will keep them coming back.