How to Prepare Your Business For Small Business Saturday 2019
Graphic by Sophia Fang
The countdown has begun! With the start of November, Small Business Saturday is right around the corner and will be here before you know it. While we believe that supporting local should happen every day of the year, Small Business Saturday is a perfect opportunity to celebrate your business, customers, and community!
We spoke with local business owners and gathered expert tips on how to get the most out of the day and create a plan of action in advance. Here are 10 easy strategies to prepare your business for a successful Small Business Saturday 2019!
1. Run a Small Business Saturday sales promotion
Small Business Saturday sales promotions can come in a variety of flavors depending on your industry and customer base. You could:
Run a store-wide sale
Offer a special gift basket
Hand out a coupon or discount for their next store visit
Operationally, sticking to 1-2 exclusive promotions will be more manageable than doing a bunch, but you know best about what your business can handle.
2. Launch an exclusive Small Business Saturday product!
Give your products a little Thanksgiving twist! Add some Thanksgiving-inspired flavors or autumnal colors to your existing products and create a limited edition for Small Business Saturday. You could also focus on holiday-themed products to catch the early holiday present shoppers.
3. Extend your promotions through the whole weekend
Who says you can only celebrate on Saturday? With the hubbub of Thanksgiving festivities, not all of your customers may be able to stop by your store on the day of Small Business Saturday. Extending whatever promotions you do through Thanksgiving weekend or beyond will give your customers more opportunities to visit your business and provide you with a longer window to drive sales.
4. Be well-staffed for the day
Chances are, the moment that you open up shop on Small Business Saturday, it’s going to get really busy, really quickly. To be fully prepared for the day, remember to coordinate with your employees and/or hire additional temporary staff to ensure that your business operations run smoothly.
5. Blast your customer email newsletter at least 1 week in advance
Get your customers pumped for Small Business Saturday early! An easy, low-cost strategy to stay top of mind is to send out an email newsletter wishing them a happy Thanksgiving and sharing any promotions that you’ll be doing. Try to send this email out at least a week in advance so that your customers have enough time to plan their Saturday with you in mind.