Get free social media tips to your inbox to start marketing your way to success immediately!

5 Ways to Make Small Business Saturday your Best Shopping Day this Holiday Season #ShopSmall #SmallBizSat

November 25, 2013 2

Thanksgiving hasn’t even arrived and I’m already hearing Holiday music every where. I wonder if there have been studies done correlating people’s spending habits to the music they hear? With the amount of emails I get and ads I see about Black Friday and more recently Cyber Monday, it makes me feel like both businesses and consumers have mastered these two designated shopping days. So today, I’d like to give you some insight on yet another day you can shop to get into the Holiday spirit. That day is Small Business Saturday. This year Small Business Saturday is on November 30th, 2013! Taken directly from Wikipedia:

“Small Business Saturday is an American shopping holiday held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year. First observed on November 27, 2010, it is a counterpart to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which feature big box retail and e-commerce stores respectively. By contrast, Small Business Saturday encourages holiday shoppers to patronize brick and mortar businesses that are small and local”.

 Being a small business owner myself, I love the opportunity to support other hard working individuals. Small businesses create jobs and small businesses boost the economy. Let’s show as much support for our small businesses this year as we do to the big box stores. To make this the best Small Business Saturday for you, here are 5 ways for you to make Small Business Saturday your best shopping day.

1. Register your American Express Card– American Express originally coined and promoted Small Business Saturday and they continue to encourage consumers to shop small on this day. To make Small Business Saturday even more successful, American Express will generously give you a $10 statement credit if you spend $10 or more at a small business on this day. You must register your card in advance here. It takes just a few minutes to sign up here. After you’ve registered your card, you can check out American Express’ directory of small businesses that are participating in their promotion.

Small Business Saturday AMEX Confirmation

2. Shop Smart– Just like you strategically plan out your Black Friday shopping trips, plan out your Small Business Saturday shopping. Think about things you may need, people you want to give gifts to, small businesses that may be owned by friends or family and check to see if any businesses you love are offering specials.  I’ve made it a tradition each year to spend Small Business Saturday shopping for things that I’ll use to host friends for my birthday in December. (Speaking of birthdays, make sure you check out 13 Happy Birthday Promotions for You). I know I’ll have to spend money anyway, so why not take advantage and Shop Small on this day. Last year I bought party supplies at a Liquor Box, one of the top local markets in La Jolla. The owner was extremely friendly and he proudly had a “Shop Small” sticker on his window. He made to sure remind me to sign up for the American Express promotion (I had already done it but it was great that he was promoting it). The year before that, I bought delicious cupcakes for friends to enjoy from CUPS.

Cups Cupcakes

 

3. Use your social influence–  Help everyone enjoy a day dedicated to supporting small businesses. You always hear small business owners saying that “Word of Mouth” is their most successful form of marketing. Well Social Media is the largest form of “Word of Mouth” so make sure to spread the word online! Tweet with the #ShopSmall and #SmallBizSat Hashtags, encourage your friends to sign up for their statement credit on American Express. Share this article and others promoting Small Business Saturday.

4. Dine with Friends– If shopping isn’t your thing, then take this opportunity to try a new restaurant or revisit your favorite one. What a great day to make an excuse to catch up with a friend. Thousands of restaurants are considered small businesses so you’ll have plenty of options to satisfy your culinary cravings. If you both have registered American Express Cards, politely ask the waiter to split the bill so you both get savings. Dining with friends always reminds of the time I met Keith Ferrazzi, the author of my favorite business book Never Eat Alone.

5. Take advantage of Small Business Saturday promotions– Aside from the American Express promotion, see if any other small businesses are offering promotions. I was very happy to receive my first email promoting Small Businesses by Uber, a transportation company that makes a mobile application connecting passengers with drivers. They encourage consumers to sign up for the American Express statement credit and use it on an Uber for $10 off. They also have many small business stories on their blog. (Side note: If you’ve never used Uber, you can use my code: UBERSDMEL for an additional $10 off your first ride. ) Yep, beat the Holiday traffic by taking Uber instead. Pay attention to other small businesses who may be offering specials or promotions on this day.

Small Business Saturday Uber Email

If you have any other tips on how to be a successful shopper on Small Business Saturday please let me know in the comments. Likewise, if you’re a business owner and you’re offering a promotion for Small Business Saturday, please comment below as well. Happy Small Business Saturday!

 

2 comments Leave a comment

  1. Great post Melodie! Here are the Small Business Saturday Specials which I’ll be offering. Hope to see you around very soon. Enjoy, and Happy Holidays =)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get new blog posts delivered right to your inbox.