Preparing for Small Business Saturday
By: Fred Crooks, CPA
On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, customers will shop in small businesses for Small Business Saturday. This new holiday was conceived in 2010 to promote sales in small business since Black Friday was such a huge revenue booster for the big–box stores. Small businesses were left out of the huge sale weekend and now they have a chance to join in on the fun. Last year American’s spent $5.5 billion dollars in small businesses the Saturday after Thanksgiving!
This new holiday is making a name for itself slowly but surely. In 2011 consumer awareness measured at 44 percent and rose 23 percentage points the next year. Small Business Saturday with 100 million shoppers is still overshadowed by the 247 million shoppers who participate in Black Friday. There are three tips that small businesses can follow to better prepare for their new holiday:
1. Small Business Saturday is JUST the start of the Holiday Revenue
Unlike other holidays such as Father’s day or Valentine’s Day in which sales spike and end quickly, Thanksgiving is the start to the buying season. In the fourth quarter of the year buyers stay in a purchasing mindset for a longer period of time.
Thanksgiving is the start to the month long shopping spree, which is what makes marketing for the Small Business Saturday event vital.
2. Set specific goals for Small Business Saturday
Do you want to simply boost short-term traffic and create a temporary spike in sales? Do you want to gain new customers or re-connect with old loyal customers? Do you want to sustain a revenue increase for the rest of the year? Although you want to do all of those things, you should choose one or two to concentrate on and achieve that specific goal.
3. Know your audience
Create promotions and tailored messages to appeal to your customers. You know what your customers have been buying and what sells the most in your business, so tap into your knowledge and create promotions that they can’t resist. Forty percent of small businesses consider word of mouth to be the most effective way to gain new customers. Consider offering a referral based discount and if someone gives another customers name at checkout the customer that referred him or her can get some percentage off. This is a great incentive to boost traffic and gain new customers.
Small Businesses: Do yourselves a favor and participate in Small Business Saturday!