Doing Big Business on Small Business Saturday
Last year, consumers spent about 59.1 billion dollars on Thanksgiving weekend. That comes to an average of $428 per person and was 13% more money spent than in 2011. Big box retailers might have a strangle hold on the money spent both on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, but there are some ways that small businesses can still have a profitable weekend during the shopping madness. Small Business Saturday began in 2010. Consumers are encouraged to shop at local, small business brick and mortar stores. In order to reach this market, small business owners need to position themselves as the better choice to consumers and use creative advertising to get the word out.
Realistically, small businesses cannot hope to compete with the low prices and aggressive Black Friday marketing campaigns of the larger companies. That is why Joe Manna, senior content strategist for Infusionsoft, recommends against discounting merchandise and services during the Thanksgiving Weekend shopping rush. Instead, he advises to bundle goods and services to create a more valuable product. One way to do this is to offer an extended warranty. Add a monetary value to these add-ons to give the appearance of a great deal.
On average, it is more expensive to acquire new customers than it is to create repeat business. Manna, in his article “Seven Ways to Go Beyond Black Friday if You’re a Small Business”, he states that small business owners should focus on getting repeat business from already loyal customers. Offering special deals during customer appreciation sales held on Small Business Saturday can do this. Try handing out Friends and Family sales flyers a few weeks before the holiday weekend; not only will it have your customers thinking about shopping with you on Thanksgiving Weekend, but it also help create customer loyalty.
However all the sales you plan will not generate sale unless you are able to reach your customer base. Tech.co recommends using social media to your advantage. Doing research on sites like Pinterest can help you pinpoint this year’s trends so that you can highlight similar products or service that you offer. Once you have your sales strategies in place, try using other forms of social media to get the word out. Post it n Facebook, email it in newsletter, just let your customers know that you are offering valuable products and services for a great deal during the holiday weekend.
Manna, Joe. “Seven Ways to Go Beyond Black Friday if You’re a Small Business”. Marketingprofs.com. 22 Nov. 2012.
“Banking on Black Friday: Savvy Social Media Strategies for Your Business”. Tech.co 10, Nov. 2013.