This Small Business Saturday, which strategies do you rely on when making plans for your business?
To help you make the best of this year’s Small Business Saturday, we asked CEOs, founders, and other thought leaders this question for their best recommendations. From embracing a scalable service to showing clear, exact pricing, there are several insights that may increase your business acumen and hit record sales this year.
Here are 10 ideas these leaders recommend for Small Business Saturday:
- Embrace Scalable Service to Stay Agile
- Use the Value or Premium Model With Products
- Create a Well-Trained, Reliable Staff
- Reach Out and Promote Other Small Businesses
- Source Unique SBS Opportunities Locally
- Increase Brand Awareness With a Partner
- Curate an Enticing, Complementary Product Bundle
- Extend Your Operating Hours
- Offer Discounts or Giveaways to Celebrate the Season
- Show Clear, Exact Pricing Ahead of Time
Embrace Scalable Service to Stay Agile
This Small Business Saturday, businesses need to embrace the power of flexibility. That could be in terms of their customer service, their sales team, their delivery team, or their software.
For too long, a company’s need to purchase expensive, long-term plans to prepare for short-term peaks in demand has limited business. In other words, small businesses need a service that scales with demand, not some one-size-fits-all model.
And with the festive season on the horizon, customer service demand on small businesses will extend beyond Small Business Saturday. Long-term contracts are a commitment many small businesses can’t afford to make. Small businesses need a service they can pick up, drop and customize according to need. The future is agile!
Benjamin Graham, Content Strategist, AnswerConnect
Use the Value or Premium Model With Products
Our small indie retailers are doing slightly better than their big-box counterparts this season, thanks to unique gift inventory and better customer service. Instead of offering deep discounts on the days after Thanksgiving, STAFF UP and return to full hours if you haven’t already.
As shoppers and diners become anxious about inflation, barbell pricing has been the best strategy for most of our small retailers: offer a stripped-down, value-priced version of a product and a premium version with all the bells and whistles.
Don’t be afraid to bake in a serious profit margin for the high-end product. Usually, we’d recommend nudging people to the middle-tier product, but this year’s post-Thanksgiving strategy is all about value or premium.
David Romako, Founder, Bright Brothers Strategy Group
Create a Well-Trained, Reliable Staff
You need to make sure you have the right staff in place. Finding employees who are passionate about your business and who will be dedicated to providing excellent customer service is essential.
You also need to make sure your staff is well-trained and prepared to handle an influx of customers. Once you have the right team in place, you can start planning your Small Business Saturday promotions. And with a little preparation, you can ensure that your business is ready for a successful holiday season.
Lorien Strydom, Executive Country Manager, Financer.com
Reach Out and Promote Other Small Businesses
We always feel it’s important to support other small businesses. Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool that’s often thought of last.
At Halloween parties or other fall events, mentioning the products and companies we love is an easy way to help each other as we get closer to Small Business Saturday.
Praise from trusted friends and family members can add fans and followers in droves, especially when they all shop at once on the same day to celebrate small businesses!
Jeff Goodwin, Senior Director, Performance, Orgain
Source Unique SBS Opportunities Locally
Small Business Saturday is a great opportunity to promote your business, and there are several ways to get involved. One way to get started is to create special offers and promotions for customers who shop with you on Small Business Saturday. You can also promote your business through social media using the hashtag #SmallBusinessSaturday.
In addition, many chambers of commerce and local business groups offer marketing materials and marketing support for businesses taking part in Small Business Saturday.
By taking advantage of these resources, you can make sure that your business is well-positioned to take advantage of this important shopping day.
Jim Campbell, Founder, Wizve Digital Marketing
Increase Brand Awareness With a Partner
A great way to encourage purchases from small businesses is to provide your customers a discount code for another brand upon purchase and vice versa.
If your products are complementary, your audience is likely to benefit from purchasing from their brand as well. Additionally, it’s a brilliant method to reach a larger audience and increase brand awareness in a mutually beneficial way.
Igal Rubinshtein, Founder, Home Essentials Direct
Curate an Enticing, Complementary Product Bundle
While the traditional Black Friday sales usually mean discounting EVERYTHING in your shop, with the overstretched, over-pitched business world we live in this year, I’m trying something a little different for Small Business Saturday.
I’m creating a “no-brainer bundle” of my three best products and knocking the price down by 50% for an easy-yes deal. But these aren’t just any three products slapped together, nope! They are three products that complement each other and all serve the same goal (in my instance, launching a high-converting website without the overwhelm).
Like a fine wine pairing, by sharing a selection of complimentary offers together, you’re creating a curated experience for your buyers. And with a great discount, this deal is just too good to pass up for your audience!
Michelle Pontvert, Founder & Website Designer, Michelle Pontvert
Extend Your Operating Hours
Opening up an hour earlier and staying open an hour later has positioned my business to make the most of what could be the most significant business day of the year.
It is probably the biggest sale day after black Friday, hence the need to treat it with purpose. Extra operating hours earn the business more and build more client relationships.
These relationships grow because of prolonged interactions with the clients.
Yongming Song, CEO, Live Poll for Slides
Offer Discounts or Giveaways to Celebrate the Season
The holiday shopping season is here, and your customers will shop for gifts for the season. You can use this opportunity to gain more customers for your business.
To do this, offer a discount or a giveaway to celebrate the holiday season and to attract your customers. You can choose to offer them a gift if they purchase a specific product or service. You can also choose to offer a limited-time discount or a giveaway with a specific product or service.
Whatever you choose to do, make sure that it is something that is going to benefit your business.
Luciano Colos, Founder & CEO, PitchGrade
Show Clear, Exact Pricing Ahead of Time
A best practice is to discount your sale products in ways a consumer can clearly understand. Offering a percentage off isn’t always as enticing as offering a dollar discount.
Setting an exact or tiered amount, such as $50 off of every kit or $20 off per each $100 spent, is a demonstrable number that is easy to calculate.
Coming up with this discounting plan well ahead of time allows a business to ensure they’re still in the black on Small Business Saturday.
Temoer Terry, Partner, The Mommy Care Kit
