The 12th annual Small Business Saturday is just a week away falling on November 27, 2021. The annual holiday shopping event puts small businesses across America front and center to celebrate the contribution of small businesses towards local economies and job creation. Sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday Small Business Saturday takes place on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to encourage people to ‘Shop Small’ instead of making purchases at big box stores and e-commerce stores.
If you’re a small business owner or a small business supporter and want to know more about Small Business Saturday 2021 here are some insights on how you can encourage shopping locally.
When is Small Business Saturday 2021?
Small business Saturday falls on November 27, 2021, and is designed to encourage consumers to shop at small and local independent retailers, local restaurants, and other independent local businesses. The first event was in 2010 launched by American Express to help support small businesses struggling as a result of the recession the annual holiday has become an annual holiday shopping event co-sponsored by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Small Business Coalition, made up of non-profit trade groups, public officials and municipalities.
How to Sign Up for Small Business Saturday 2021
If you are a small business owner, you don’t need to register with any organization to participate in Small Business Saturday. To participate in Small Business Saturday is easy all you have to do is follow these simple steps:
First register on American Express’ merchant profile submit your business’s Employer Identification Number (EIN) and become part of the Shop Small campaign. This helps you to access some great valuable resources for local small businesses to make the best of the shopping holiday.
Add your business to the AmericanExpress Shop Small Map. so that shoppers can find your location and you are all set. Successful Small businesses that are eligible for American Express services will not only be included in the online map but will be included in the small business online directory for free.
There is also an option for people to partake in Small Business Saturday for non-retailers where they can become a Neighborhood champions. Neighborhood champions take charge of organizing local events or promotions to encourage people and businesses about Small Business Saturday in your community.
10 Ways to Prepare for and Make the Most Out of Small Business Saturday 2021
Small Business Saturday’s is all about shopping small by encouraging customers to visit local businesses and support them during the holiday season. Whether you’re a first-time or a seasoned Small Business Saturday participant here are ten Small Business Saturday ideas that can help you make the most out of this year’s Small Businesses Saturday.
1. Extend Your Opening Hours
Because Small Business Saturday falls smack in between the holiday shopping season you will need to draw customers to your business or shop to capitalize on the event. Besides promoting the vent and your products and services you will need to extend both your opening and closing hours. This will help encourage people to shop longer and make as many purchases as possible.
2. Create a Tempting Offer or Discount
Holiday shopping is all about drawing in as many customers to your store as possible. You can encourage existing customers and new customers to make more purchases by engaging them with exclusive offers, discounts, in-store events, and promotions.
3. Host an Event and Collaborate with Other Small Businesses
You can make the best of the shopping holiday by hosting an event in your store or collaborating with other small businesses to not only inform clients of the event but also encourage support for small businesses
4. Prepare Your Website for Increased Traffic
During this season lots of potential customers will be going online to research purchases and weigh offerings by businesses. One of the ways customers will research is through the world wide web make sure that you have tweaked your landing page with holiday-specific content including special offerings to let customers know what you are offering.
5. Stock Up
Successful small businesses know that the holiday season entails buying sprees. There is nothing worse than running out of stock and having to turn away customers. To avoid losing out in sales make sure your store is fully stocked before the holiday and have plenty of your bestsellers available.
6. Support Other Small Business Owners Events
Small Business Saturday is all about showing solidarity to local small businesses and helping them thrive. As a small business owner, you should consider offering goodwill to fellow small businesses by supporting small business Saturday events.
7. Use Social Media to Advertise
Social media is the new word of mouth where customers search for products, discover products, and read reviews. Social media is one of the best ways to connect with your audience and drive traffic to your website and ultimately your shop. You can boost your social media marketing campaign by posting offers and promotions as well as advertising on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
8. Create Offline Local Ads
Don’t forget Small Business Saturday is all about shopping locally. You as a local business should also reach out to customers through local papers ads, flyers, posters, and billboards.
9. Send a Small Business Saturday Email Series
If you have an email list of clients then you should think about launching an email series to reach out to clients and inform them of special offers. This includes your working hours, whether you offer deliveries while also sending them your holiday greetings.
10. Host a Giveaway
Offering your customers gifts shows that you appreciate their patronage. This can go a long way towards building long-term relationships with your clients that keep them returning to your business, year in, year out. Consider offering samples, tokens, and freebies to add to the holiday spirit.
Create or Download Small Business Saturday Images
You can create your own Small Business Saturday marketing collateral for the event or if you are not sure on how to develop your own then predesigned Shop Small downloadable resources and free campaign signs are available to download and use for free. In addition, you can also go to American Express’ Shop Small Studio to get additional downloadable posters, social media posts, and other resources to promote your business as well as the holiday shopping event.
How to Use the Small Business Saturday Logo
All American Express’ Small Business Saturday marketing collateral come free AMEX offers guidelines on how to use the Small Business Saturday logo.
Image: Depositphotos
