It’s Thanksgiving week and that means for many retailers this is a make or break season for the rest of the year. In today’s Tech News Tuesday episode, we’re discussing how local businesses can leverage national programs like Small Business Saturday to grow all year.
Small Business Saturday can be a great way to capture year-round customers.
Did you know it is the 13th anniversary of the Shop Small Program. We’ll be out there shopping local on that day, but we also like shopping local as often as we can. As a business owner it is important to remember that Small Business Saturday is also an opportunity for you to gain new, year-round customers.
Generate Year-Round Business
If you have a local business, what kind of experience do you have planned for your customers on Small Business Saturday, and what will you do to encourage them to come back throughout the year? You don’t want it to be a one-off visit to you.
Have an incentive like an offer or special drawing so shoppers give you their contact information.
The challenge and the opportunity for small businesses is to have your online presence reflect and be in sync with your in person operations. Make it easy for people to research their options with you in order to plan a visit on Small Business Saturday, or any day of the year.
Encourage Return Business
Think of Small Business Saturday as a way to build relationships with your customer and the local community. But, have you thought about how you’ll get them back the rest of the year? Encourage return business by creating an incentive. For example, you could do a gift drawing that day or offer a special coupon to be used at a later date.
Make Sure You Can Contact Them All Year
Whatever you decide to do to encourage return customers, don’t forget to have them sign up for your email list so you can continue to contact them directly. It’s a great idea to send a follow-up email to them in the next couple weeks too. Thank them for coming in and wish them a wonderful holiday season.
For those who shop with you Saturday, make sure to send a follow up email thanking them and wishing them a happy holiday.
It’s OK to remind people that when you shop small, you make a big difference. When you spend money in your local community, more of that money stays in the local economy and benefits everyone. I have my list of local businesses to buy from, do you?
Links in this episode: Let’s Go Shop Small
HOW TO SHOP LOCAL ALL YEAR LONG
Optimizing Your Local Business For Voice Search
