Every year, retailers prepare for it months in advance: the weekend after Thanksgiving. Of course, while Black Friday has long been a cornerstone of every store’s holiday season, the weekend has expanded in more recent years. Cyber Monday finds online sellers offering their best deals, Giving Tuesday fosters charity campaigns in the nonprofit sector and Small Business Saturday encourages consumers to support locally owned businesses in their own neighborhoods.
Small Business Saturday began in 2010 as an American Express campaign, and has since grown to reach 95 million shoppers in 2015. As the 2016 season rolls around, below are 3 ways to ensure your small business makes the most of the day – and embodies best practices that continue throughout the holidays.
Be active and available on social media. One of the reasons customers participate in Small Business Saturday is because they enjoy forming connections with other individuals and business owners instead of large corporations. Beyond spending the day actively meeting with and serving customers in your store (or through communications coming into your website channels), be sure all hands are on deck to monitor social media, respond to questions and thank customers for supporting a small business.
Streamline internal processes. Perhaps you’ve been considering swapping internal IT staff for a consultant, or finally moving away from the various spreadsheets that house customer information for your internal team. If you have the chance to downsize processes and increase results, take it before you head into the holiday season.
Don’t let customer service suffer due to a busy day. We get it. The holiday season is tough for any retailer, but for a small business with limited resources, it’s easy to find yourself giving 100 percent – then realizing you have nothing left. Create a plan for building lasting customer relationships on Small Business Saturday and beyond, and you’ll find yourself enjoying the benefits of repeat business sooner rather than later.
Learn how a CRM can enhance customer relationships for small businesses.
At Insightly, we offer a CRM used by small and mid-sized businesses from a variety of verticals. Learn about all of Insightly’s features and plans on our pricing page or sign up for a free trial.
