Small Business Saturday is November 30. How can you make sure your business is ready?
Small Business Saturday and the Shop Small initiative are quickly approaching, occurring on the Saturday following Thanksgiving and Black Friday. This day is designed to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities. Entrepreneurs want to be sure their establishments are ready to compete and succeed.
How can you and your team prepare for the November 30 event?
Resources throughout Wisconsin shared their insights.
“Utilize all your marketing channels to let shoppers know you are a small business and need their support,” said Katherine Fossler, Center Director, Wisconsin Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at UW-River Falls. “Use creative photos and videos and quotes from satisfied customers. Nothing sells better than a true testimonial! Create a Facebook Event or host events on Facebook Live leading up to the big day. Consider adding a prize drawing, demonstration, or behind-the-scenes tour to get shoppers to commit to showing up.”
Fossler added, “Create a Small Business Saturday Special such as featuring a popular product or service or a combination of products as your special. Reducing the price isn’t necessary; just make it unique in some way via packaging or the story behind it. Then countdown to the big day on your social media at least a week before Small Business Saturday to create excitement and anticipation.”
The Wisconsin Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) offer consulting, education, referrals, sophisticated tools, and resources for entrepreneurs at no cost. Michelle Somes-Booher, Center Director, Wisconsin SBDC at UW-Madison said, “We can help you understand your target customers and create a marketing plan to meet your sales goals throughout the year. Small Business Saturday is a key part of a marketing strategy. Set goals in advance to stay focused and use available resources to maximize opportunities.” She cited the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) planning and marketing tools to assist in planning for the day as well.
“For Small Business Saturday, let people in your community know your business is participating,” reported Eric Ness, District Director, SBA Wisconsin District Office. “SBA has a link for participating businesses that includes marketing materials and sample social media posts that are available to use at no cost.”
More social media advice was offered by the Food Finance Institute (FFI), a unit of the Office of Business and Entrepreneurship, Universities of Wisconsin. “Have you visited your Google Business Profile and social media accounts lately? Look at them as if you were an ideal customer and compare them with your best competitor,” suggested Jackie Lalley, Content and Outreach Coordinator, Food Finance Institute.
“Update your information and use every opportunity to visually show how your business is unique and appealing, and different from the competition,” Lalley added. “Use Small Business Saturday traffic to ask happy customers to review you on Google to boost your listing in search results. Marketing and branding are so important for all businesses and have unique considerations in the food and beverage industry; our FFI Fellows program provides training on marketing and branding alongside other critical areas like sales, operations, accounting and finance, and food safety.”
Cat Johnson, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Specialist, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), added, “Small Business Saturday is a chance to attract new customers and boost your community presence. The WEDC’s Main Street and Connect Communities programs offer key resources to help your business thrive, including access to promotional materials and valuable support. Check out the contacts in your local area for Connect Communities and Main Street Communities.”
Founded by American Express in 2010 and officially co-sponsored by SBA since 2011, Small Business Saturday has become an important part of small businesses’ busiest shopping season. Historically, reported projected spending among U.S. consumers who shopped at independent retailers and restaurants on Small Business Saturday reached an estimated $17.9 billion according to the 2022 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey.
