Making The Most Out Of Small Business Saturday 2022
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The Holiday Season is already here and this time becomes extremely important for sellers who are selling on all eCommerce marketplaces, & especially more for those who sell/plan to sell on one of the world’s largest marketplaces, Amazon. Small Business Saturday turns up in the middle of the holiday season each year to celebrate small local businesses everywhere.
On the fourth Saturday in November, 26th November this year, Americans are encouraged to buy from local and small businesses, whether online or in-store, even if they find what they need elsewhere.
If you’re a small business owner, there can be no better time to reach more customers than almost any other time of year. The rate of traffic on Amazon is usually on the higher side during the holiday season with sellers popping out exciting year-end deals for customers. And for Shopify store owners who plan to sell on Amazon, there can be no better time to sell on one of the world’s largest marketplaces than now.
Let’s take a look at how Small Business Saturday started and how to maximize this opportunity with seven simple ideas.
As of February 25, 2023, the New and Improved version of Amazon by CedCommerce is now known as “CedCommerce Amazon Channel”.
What is Small Business Saturday?
Small Business Saturday (SBS) got its start on November 27, 2010, in Massachusetts and was sponsored by American Express. In 2011, the Senate agreed that SBS should be official, and the has hence been supported by the government ever since.
In 2014, American Express, which trademarked SBS, promoted it across social media and encouraged participation everywhere. By 2015, SBS had become a tradition for both businesses and shoppers.
Small businesses got a special holiday and shoppers gained a sense of hometown pride when they visited local businesses in their community. In 2020, SBS shoppers spent nearly $20 billion, and a 2021 survey reported that 42% of Americans planned to shop small during SBS.
7 fantastic Small Business Saturday ideas
With the Small Business Saturday taking place on November 26 this year, here are 7 effective ways of reaching out to your customers in the best possible manner:
- Showcase your participation
- Show relativity with your local community
- Promote Specials
- Use multiple marketing strategies
- Hold Contests
- Prioritize Customer Service
- Go Big With Ads
1. Showcase your Participation
To take advantage of the hype surrounding SBS and to encourage more local prospective customers to visit your eCommerce website, make it a point that they know you’re a small business celebrating the day. A few ways of letting them know you are:
- Posting on social media using hashtags like #SmallBusinessSaturday and #ShopSmall
- Update your website with the necessary & relevant information
- Sign up to get featured on the map of Shop Small
2. Show Relativity With The Local Community
Small businesses typically have strong community ties. Showcase ways that highlight this relative connection of your store with your local community.
Share your story with customers both on your website and in your storefront that highlights ways you participate in the community.
For example, on social media, you can highlight the latest donation you made to a local charity or your team’s visit to a local park for a team event.
All these activities show that you’re in business for your customers, which will in turn motivate your community to support you.
3. Promote Specials
There can be no better time to run a promotion than Small Business Saturday!
The community wants to support you, so you should respond by running special discounts and offers on Amazon. Not only will it show appreciation for your customers, but it will also attract new customers. You can let everyone know about this upcoming promotion by:
- Posting on social media
- Sending an email to subscribers
- Creating a Google My Business Post
- Writing an update on your blog
You can also update your online store’s design to include a banner that announces this promotion. For example, the banner could say, “25% OFF SITEWIDE” to let everyone visiting your site (even non-local traffic) know about your Small Business Saturday promotion.
4. Use multiple marketing strategies
You’re probably already marketing your small business. But in the week leading up to SBS, invest even more time in marketing to reach as many people as possible.
For example, you can take the lead on this Small Business Saturday promotion idea by:
- Regularly posting on Social Media & running giveaways to drive engagement
- Creating a promotional email campaign to keep subscribers informed (and excited) in the days leading up to Small Business Saturday
- Launching an ad campaign with location targeting to reach potential shoppers in your area
With most of these strategies, you’ll want to include essential information like promotional dates, special offers, and where to ask questions or seek help.
5. Run Contests
Contests are one of the best ways to get customers to your store on SBS. You can announce this contest on social media and encourage customers to participate by attracting them with great prizes or gift cards.
For example, maybe shoppers earn an entry for every $1 they spend at your store.
This motivates people to shop at your business because they have the incentive to earn a prize, like a gift card, from your company. When brainstorming contest ideas, focus on ideas that offer easy entry and appeal to a broader audience.
6. Prioritize Customer Service
Even if your team is overwhelmed by SBS, cater to every customer.
One of the biggest benefits of running a small business is that you’ll be able to create personal ties with your customers better. Extend your warmest thanks for their support and answer any questions they may have.
In doing so, you’ll show how much you appreciate them.
If you need help managing all the questions and purchases, especially those from online users, think about investing in a chatbot. With a chatbot, like on Facebook, you can quickly answer common user questions, like your shipping times, return policy, and more.
7. Go Big with Ads
Investing in ads is one of the best Small Business Saturday ideas because it helps future customers become aware of your brand before the big day.
PPC ads on social media and search engines show customers that SBS is just around the corner. You can use them to promote any specials you’re offering to attract customers to your store.
Plus, you can use location targeting with these ads to limit your advertisements to the clients that matter most to your business.
Small Business Saturday 2022 with the ‘Amazon by CedCommerce’ app
With the holiday season up and running, it becomes imperative for all sellers, irrespective of their business size, to use services from people who have expertise in integrating multiple marketplaces. For all Shopify sellers planning to sell on Amazon, you must look at the Amazon by CedCommerce native sales channel app on the Shopify app store.
The ‘Amazon by CedCommerce’ app will assist and handle retailer operations. In addition, it’s right from scratch! Some of the more nifty features of the app include:-
- List new or link existing Amazon inventory with Shopify
- Simplified order flow from Amazon to Shopify
- Near real-time product data syncing
- Smart bulk editing with predefined templates
- Steady multi-account connectivity
CedCommerce services for Amazon sellers will help to escalate businesses and define a new standard in the market. With our amazon 24×7 customer services and dedicated account managers, selling on Amazon couldn’t get easier than before.
The Amazon by CedCommerce app, for Shopify sellers makes business operations accessible and smooth.
Make Small Business Saturday a Success
CedCommerce knows all about the importance of Small Business Saturday as we specialize in digital marketing for small-to-midsized businesses, and we have all the resources to make you stand out.
Connect with us today to learn more about growing your small business with our award-winning team!