Small Business Saturday is almost upon us and Americans are ready to open their wallets. According to a Gallup study, the nation is in the mood to shop for the holidays. Gallup’s initial measure of consumers’ 2017 Christmas shopping plans suggests retailers could see the best holiday sales in years. How good? It shows Americans plan to spend $906 on gifts, the most since 2007. That’s some serious money.

As the Small Business Saturday movement continues to gain momentum, so does the opportunity to boost your holiday sales. We have a few tips to help you improve your business operations and set you up for success for the big day and beyond.

Rally the Troops to Prioritize Customer Service

Big chain retail stores often lack personalized service and hospitality. Many people shop small just to get that experience. Use this time to ramp up your own hospitality efforts. Put a plan in place which focuses on all aspects of the customer experience. For example:

• Have employees greet customers at the door and ask if they are looking for anything specific. A tailored customer experience can make the biggest impact.
• Make sure your employees are consistently prompting customers about special offers and signing them up for email updates.

Partner with Other Small Business Neighbors to Create a Series of Promotions

There really is strength in numbers. One helpful initiative is to band together with local small businesses in your neighborhood, a tactic that can go far beyond Small Business Saturday. Work together to plan a whole series of holiday promotions. The results can be amazing. Here’s a few ideas:

• Before Small Business Saturday, start with a Black Friday sales push…and then segue into the big day.
• Next, offer an exclusive Friends and Family event and cross-promote each business.
• Finally, after the excitement from Black Friday and Small Business Saturday has died down, do another promotion for a 76% sidewalk sale. This is the perfect push for when things slow down after the holidays to help move leftover inventory.

Talk about impact of last year’s Small Business Saturday

These days, consumers love to align with a purposeful cause. It makes them feel good about spending their money. Here are some ways you can drive home the importance of their patronage and reward your customers for shopping small:

• Share statistics from last year’s Small Business Saturday. Let customers know their business helps keep mom and pops, like you, in operation.
• Thank them, then reward them. If they shopped with you last year, offer a repeat customer Small Business Saturday deal to prompt them to come in and spend with you again this year. A little appreciation goes a long way.

The team at Reliant Funding is pleased to recognize Small Business Saturday, occurring annually just two days after Thanksgiving. We’ve already participated in the upcoming success of some of our clients across America, delivering funds they’re using to upgrade their stores and restaurants, build their inventories and increase their marketing in time for this event. Plus, our staff will be shopping and dining out that day, among other activities that support businesses in our communities.