In the News: What does your business do for Small Business Saturday, Black Friday, or Cyber Monday?

[Pesso]

Hey Newsies,

Today we’re talking Small Business Saturday, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, with an article from Bankrate discussing the upcoming Festive/Holiday Season, and how businesses are preparing to make some extra sales. I’d love to hear your experiences on these sales events at your business.

Bankrate: Small Business Saturday vs. Cyber Monday: Which major shopping event is right for your sma...

The article explains that a total of over 300 million customers shop across these three sales event days in the U.S., which can drive a lot of sales to small businesses. 

Black Friday revolves around discounts, especially around technology, appliances, clothing, home and exercise, and falls on the Friday after Thanksgiving, on November 24, 2023. Small Business Saturday looks to shift focus to supporting local shops, and is the day after, on November 25, 2023. Cyber Monday continues the buying trend but instead is typically online-only, and lands on the following Monday, on November 27, 2023.

The article suggests not just putting out discounts, but having a full plan to create engaging and memorable experiences for your customers. This can include putting together a holiday guide, positioning your products and services as great gifts they can give to friends and family. You can also turn the days into events, with decorations, games, giveaways, music, gift wrapping, and other in-store and online entertainment like a livestream on social media. 

Just remember to make sure that with anything you do, you stay within your budget. The goal is to increase sales and make a little extra money, but not dip into your profits. You can get more information and get free marketing materials for Small Business Saturday on the SBA website.

My ice cream shop was seasonal and we closed for the winter at the end of September or October, so we weren’t open for Black Friday. People don’t usually think of ice cream for these kinds of sales events anyway, but every year we set up a 10% discount on our Gift Cards. We used the Square eGift Cards feature with an automatic discount to make fulfillment effortless. We set up Square Marketing email campaigns and posted about the deal on social media every few days. We kept the sale going from Thanksgiving through New Years, and would sell a decent amount each year. It brought in some great income during the slower winter months to help keep us going, and our customers got to save on their day-to-day purchases once we reopened. Definitely not a traditional path, but it really worked! If we were doing it again this year though, I would hold a livestream to amp up the deal a bit more and make it more of an event.

What’s your perspective:

• What is your business doing for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or Small Business Saturday?

• What have you seen other businesses do that can act as inspiration?

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
Pesso

[maxpete]

One really cool initiative that the neighborhood business association throws every year on Small Business Saturday is called Sprit Stroll where local shops in the neighborhood participate in a holiday themed event. It ends up driving a lot of foot traffic to the shops and is super fun too! 🎄

[Pesso]

Thanks for sharing, @maxpete ! Oh wow, that does look really cool and so helpful to all of those local businesses! 
Definitely something more areas should adopt and put on. Absolutely wish I was there!

[DinaLRosenberg]

I really really love this idea! I wish we had more businesses in our downtown b/c it would be amazing to do something like this!

[DinaLRosenberg]

We are doing our biggest sale of the year- 20% off everything Friday through Monday...

and it's our 5th birthday too 🙂 

[Pesso]

That's huge, @DinaLRosenberg -- Congrats on reaching 5 years, that's a huge milestone!

Are y'all doing any other experiential things for it? 

[rtfulk]

We are doing 30% off Friday through Monday.

[Pesso]

Love it, @rtfulk ! Have y'all been doing anything to make it more of an experience too?

[Stacelyn24]

I'm late to the party but let me chime in lol.  We also hosted a egift card sale for Black Friday using Square's Gift Card Services.  I generated an email campaign that went out for two weeks before announcing the sale.  The week of we used SMS marketing to keep us in the know and in our clients faces.  We used square for both platforms.  Our sale was receive 20% off your egift card with at least a $150 purchase (so a savings starting at $30).  We marketed it not only for clients to get as gifts for family, friends, or coworkers....but also for them to purchase for themselves so they can save money on their standing appointments (we're a nail salon...sorry left that out lol)!

We usually host a vip shopping events for our vip clients (invite only) for Small Business Saturday but this year we did something a little different.  We gathered other small and local business and made a coupon book for our clients so that they can visit and patronage other small businesses they may haven't heard about 🙂

[Pesso]

Thanks for sharing, @Stacelyn24 !

Ah, that's such a great setup and campaign! Love the sale and massive use of marketing. 

Cool idea for the coupon book collab with a bunch of other businesses! How did that end up going so far? 
What inspired you to do that?

And was led to the switch from doing a VIP event?

[Bronze_Palms]

We rolled out new packages this season, but nothing crazy. We ran promos on digital products and retail, but that is it. I think the consumer is fatigued by 2 months of holiday sales tbh.

[Pesso]

Thanks for sharing, @Bronze_Palms ! 

That's a really good point, it can definitely be a lot, especially when money is tight for a lot of folks. I know I didn't do much buying this season.