8 Easy Ways to Prepare for Small Business Saturday

Can you believe it’s already November? Online retailers and even brick and mortar stores are reminding customers that the holiday gift giving season  is around the corner. 

Just as retailers are marketing their businesses earlier and earlier to customers for the holiday season, so should you. 

Since Black Friday belongs to brick and mortar stores and Cyber Monday belongs to online retailers, make Small Business Saturday all about your business. Whether you are running a full time enterprise or you’ve got a side hustle, this is your opportunity to share your goods and services with prospects. 

But Small Business Saturday is not for the faint at heart. Like all things in business, you’ve got to set up a plan and then, be ready to execute. Check out these 8 tips to help you have a profitable Small Business Saturday. 

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1. Create a plan of action and have a goal in mind. 

Saying that you are going to participate in Small Business Saturday is one thing. Actually doing Small Business Saturday is a whole nother story. Remember that famous adage: if you fail to plan, you plan to fail? Yeah. It’s absolutely true. If you want to run a successful Small Business Saturday campaign, you’ve got really think about what your promotions will be, how you will market to customers and prospects and finally…how you will deliver your products and services.

2. Determine what your special offers will be.

Remember what’s driving customers and prospects during the holiday season is always a sale. What will be your sale? How long will you offer this sale? Why? Only you can answer these questions, but just make sure that you’ve got a few specials that won’t exhaust you as a business owner and will also make customers take you up on your offer.  

3. Develop a social media strategy for targeting customers. 

How will you promote your participation in Small Business Saturday? Your social media accounts are one way to let your loyal customers know you are offering specials. It’s also a great way for new customers to discover the greatness of your business. 

The rule of thumb for social media is to market specific products and services to target markets. So if you sell jewelry but your day job is as an accountant, LinkedIn might not be the best account to share your sales. However running a  few posts on Facebook or Instagram leading up to Small Business Saturday might help you move some inventory. 

4. Use your email list. 

Remember that robust email list that you’ve worked so hard to build? Now is the time to start reaching out and letting everyone know you are running holiday specials. 

Forgetting all those people would be a crime you don’t want to commit. In the days leading up to Small Business Saturday, send out a short newsletter reminding your subscribers that you will be offering special promotions. And then on Small Business Saturday, I’d send another–sharing your specials. 

Don’t have an email list? Small Business Saturday is the perfect day to get subscribers. Offer an additional discount to purchasers if they provide their email information. Provide a freebie or enter people into a giveaway if they share their email.  

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5. Print marketing materials.

Business cards, flyers, promotional items, boxes, labels, shipping supplies…you name it, you’ll need it to handle Small Business Saturday successfully. If you have time, you can always order these items. Or, if you’re short on time, head over to Staples or your local printer to get the job done. Just be ready. There’s nothing worse than scrambling while you should be running your business. 

6. Make sure your website is running at top speed. 

You’ll more than likely be receiving the bulk of your sales through your website. So make sure that the speed of your site is up to speed. And while you’re working on your site speed, consider highlighting special sales on your homepage. 

7. Perform an inventory check. 

Now that you’ve planned what specials you’ll offer, scheduled some social media posts, updated your website and worked on your email list, make sure that you’ve got every single item you’ll need to run your Small Business Saturday campaign. This way, you won’t have to worry about turning customers away, offering a similar product or backordering an item. 

8. Get ready for the workload.

Keep Thanksgiving Day as easy as possible so you can focus on growing your business. Make sure that you’ve got a team in place to help you handle the holiday rush–this way you will be able to meet the needs of customers without delay. Being ready also means that you’ve got to be well rested with enough time carved out to deliver orders. It means that you’ve got to have time set aside to deliver the services people purchased. Do what it takes to be ready to tackle the holiday season and determine success on your own accord.