Take Part in Small Business Saturday

Mark your calendars! Small Business Saturday is around the corner! An American shopping day held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (after Black Friday and before Cyber Monday), this annual event encourages shoppers to do their holiday shopping at small and local businesses — like yours!

Small Business Saturday is anything but small and all about community. It was founded by American Express in 2010 as a way to celebrate and promote the local businesses that make America’s neighborhoods so great. Due to the big response, in 2011 it became recognized as an official shopping holiday.

This year Small Business Saturday falls on November 29^th.

No matter what type of business you are in, it pays to participate! Take advantage of this unique opportunity to promote your business and boost sales for your business.

Encourage your customers to Shop Small®.

Encourage your customers to shop your business by creating memorable marketing materials that promote your business and invite customers to Shop Small®.

1.    Extend an invitation. Create an in-store event to attract new and old customers to come to your business. Send out simple customized invitations. You can also promote online by creating an event on Facebook.

2.    Let it fly. Put up a flyer in your store window that reminds shoppers of the date and encourages them to shop local. Not only is it a great way to support your community, but it is also a great way to boost your brand image.

3.    Gear up on giveaways. Plan a special giveaway that reminds your customers to shop at your establishment all year long. Customized 2015 calendars, personalized pens, and custom-printed t-shirts are all great, functional gifts your customers can use every day of the year.

4.    Create special offers. Increase the incentives with special one-day discounts and promotions that will improve foot traffic into your store location. Giving away gift certificates  for every $XXX spent is a smart way to encourage repeat business.

5.    Give them something to smile about. Create even more excitement for your local small business by doing something unique to generate attention. Have a DJ play music in the store. Hire a magician or clown. Serve free coffee in the morning. Display balloons outside your store and give away free cake.

6.    Be social. Social media played a critical role to the first Small Business Saturday’s success. Be sure to follow the movement on Facebook and hashtag #SmallBusinessSaturday on Twitter.

Regardless of whether you are a retail store or restaurant, a beauty salon or a bakery, Small Business Saturday is a fantastic opportunity to reach out and show your community that small businesses matter. The only “wrong” way to participate is to not participate at all.

Be sure, too, to check out the free materials American Express provides to assist you in promoting this fantastic and meaningful event.

Thing big. Shop small.

Have you celebrated Small Business Saturday in the past? Are you planning to participate this year? We want to know! Please tell us your story below.   

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Your Customers Are Looking Online. Can They Find You?

Every day people use their smart phone to look for everything from local movie times and dining options to car repair services, pet supply stores, beauty salons, and more.  Is your company one of them?

According to The New York Times, nearly half of all mobile searches — also known as “googling” performed on a smartphone — have a local intent. This means that the person who is doing the searching is looking for local information. This number is up from 40% last year and translates to literally billions of local searches taking place on mobile phones.

To better understand people’s local search behaviors, Google recently partnered with Ipsos MediaCT and Purchased to research the behaviors of more than 5,000 American smartphone users. Their study revealed:

• Searches with local intent are more likely to lead to store visits and sales within a day
• 1 in 3 searches on smartphones occur right before a consumer’s visit to a store
•    50% of mobile users are most likely to visit after conducting a local search — compared to 34 percent of consumers who are using tablets or computers to research the same information.
• Mobile searchers are typically ready to buy once they are in a store.
• 18% of local searches lead to sales, compared to 7 percent for non-local searches.
•  Consumers search for a variety of information, the most popular being:
• Business hours
• Directions to a local store
• Local store address

Despite the huge volume of local queries in mobile, a majority of small businesses and brands still don’t have mobile-optimized websites. If your company happens to be one of them, Cordial Greetings can help. 

The Benefits of Mobility
Given the growing trend in mobile device use, it’s more important than ever to ensure that your business can be found quickly and easily — and using the devices your customers rely on the most.

We’ve all been in situations in which we wanted to find something nearby — the closest gas station to the airport, a local yoga studio, or simply a place to go to dinner. We also search for services that don’t necessarily have a prominent store front — a landscaping business, a trucking company, a dentist, a plumber, and more. Mobile content helps to ensure that your business is found and allows people to pass your name along effortlessly!

Get Your Business Moving
Dedicated to helping small businesses succeed, Cordial Greetings now offers Mobile Landing Pages. Choose one of eight attractive and professional template themes, including automobile, construction, landscaping, general business, towing, plumbing and more. Each one is designed to make it easy for your customers to access your business information on their mobile device.

Getting Started – Three Simple Steps

1. Provide us with your company and contact information
2. We will create a Mobile Landing Page for your business and provide you with a QR code image via email
3. Add your QR code to any promotional product or printed media

With Cordial Greetings a mobile website isn’t only easy, it’s also affordable— just $49.99 for an entire year! Your Mobile Landing Page will be active for 12 months from the date of purchase and can easily be renewed - allowing your business to benefit for as few or as many years as you choose.

Take the Next Step

Get started today!