Issue 120: Are You Helping Fulfill a Dream in Your Community?

“The best time to support a small business is always today.”

— Gisele Barreto Fetterman, co-founder of the non-profits For Good PGH and 412 Food Rescue

---

My sweet marketing team

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Or so it’s been said. The holidays bring a lot of hustle, bustle, stress, and overwhelm. For local businesses and organizations, it can bring even more.

One of the quotes I see often, and maybe you do too, is, “Supporting a small business is supporting a dream.”  I want to support someone else’s dreams because it gives me a good feeling to see others flourish and know I helped in a small way.

Did you know that American Express launched #SmallBizSat in 2010 to promote small businesses after the recession? Our small businesses are part of our communities. Many times, it’s the small businesses that support the baseball teams, community festivals, and church events. The holiday season can be crucial for them to stay afloat or have the capital for the lean months ahead. Here are six simple ways you can help this holiday season:

1. Buy products, services, gift certificates, memberships, and digital programs. Small businesses come in every size, from brick-and-mortar to local authors to niche online services.

2. Take a selfie inside a brick-and-mortar store and tag them on social media. For online purchases, hold the product in your hand, snap a photo and post.

3. Hit the “Check-In” location icon on your social platform.

4. Share a story about the service or product you purchased.

5. Write a positive review. You only need to write a sentence or two.

6. Share the business’s website link with family, friends, and colleagues.

For small business owners, now is the time to stand out, be top of mind, and multiply your marketing efforts.

Here are 10 marketing ideas for businesses:

1. Create a gift guide or “Look Book” for clothing companies. It could be a hard copy or digital.

2. Kick off a unique item with a product launch. Or highlight a different product weekly for a specific gift recipient.

3. Partner with other small shops. One florist partnered with a game store and restaurant to provide Friday Night Family Night gift certificates.

4. Host a VIP Event with special hours for your loyal customers.

5. Create a #Shoplocal countdown with a series of mini-events.

6. Create a Facebook Event. Ask family and friends to share. It’s a great way to cross-promote. (See #4 and #5.)

7. Set up a Selfie Spot where customers can take photos to post on social media. A local coffee café created a fun spot that changes décor with the seasons. During the Barbie movie trend, everything was pink.

8. Schedule in-store entertainment during slower hours to entice customers to visit.

9. Set up a Livestream, enabling customers to provide an on-the-spot testimony.

10. Offer complimentary gift wrapping. It’s one less gift customers must wrap.

Together, we can make a difference for our local businesses and communities.

Thank You Special

As a thank you to my readers and clients, all of my Kindle books are only 99¢ until November 30, 2023. My sweet marketing team says, “Get them now before this special pricing goes away.” 😊

Mj Happenings

• October wrapped up an amazing month of keynotes, workshops, and half/full-day training programs. I was on the road more than I was home. Gidget, my 17-pound Corgi mix missed me.

• November kicked off with an amazing celebration trip to Ireland. More to share in future Chronicles, including The Tale of Two Taxis about customer engagement.

Until next time, Power-Up, Play-Up and Bounce-Up™!

Mj

P.S. How are you supporting others this holiday season? Share your tips.