How small businesses can work together for the success of Christmas

The Christmas shopping season gives small business owners the opportunity to team up to compete more effectively with the big stores. Here are five ways to see the success of this season.
The best time of the year is also the most competitive. For retailers of all sizes and shapes, the Christmas shopping season is big business. However, for small and independent retailers, the Christmas season has a number of unique challenges as national chains, big box stores and online retailers are offering ever-more flashy Black Friday promotions and seasonal gimmicks. To create a level playing field, small businesses should work together to achieve success in the Christmas season.

By working together, small businesses can gain in numbers. You can exchange lessons from past years and develop mutual customer bases. They can grow fast and spread losses just like their bigger counterparts - but it's not just about how the competition plays.

Small businesses can also work together to multiply their impact on the local economy. Research has shown that independent retailers are returning more than three times their sales to the local economy than national chains and large boxes. Independent companies make an even bigger difference than pure online retailers like Amazon. By increasing Christmas sales, small businesses can make the season even more meaningful for the entire community.

The first step to working together is getting to know the other small businesses in your community. Main Street organizations (often referred to as independent business alliances, downtown business districts and Local First initiatives) bring small businesses together throughout the year with empowerment campaigns and advocacy programs. During the holiday season, these groups use local traditions and national trends to help small businesses compete with their larger counterparts. In this way, Main Street organizations provide important networking opportunities to help small businesses get together.

As soon as your small business connects with local partners, the actual planning begins. Think of these ideas as you work with other companies during this Christmas shopping season.

1. Gather your neighborhood.

For small businesses, no holiday time strategy is complete without a Small Business Saturday schedule. Every year, Small Business Saturday brings millions of Americans to Main Street to open the Christmas shopping season on Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year's celebration, which will take place on November 30, marks the tenth anniversary of the growing initiative.
Beyond planning for your own business, you can sign up to collect your entire neighborhood for Small Business Saturday. American Express, which has launched the shopping vacation, offers Neighborhood Champions a variety of promotional materials to inspire them for their Small Business Saturday in their communities. Neighborhood Champions organize events, form teams, and otherwise promote small business Saturday. In this way, they help create a unified brand and celebration in their community's small businesses, so consumers can easily navigate on Main Street on the big day. At American Express, you'll find event planning ideas and resources to start as the Neighborhood Champion.

2. Join the local traditions.

Even if you can not commit to bringing your neighborhood together, you can still celebrate the holidays with your community. Local main street groups, city associations and chambers of commerce fill the Christmas season with local traditions, including festive processions, light plays and Christmas carols. Each of these events provides a new opportunity to connect with your community. By working with the host organization, you can connect with other small business owners and local leaders. As you attend the event, introduce your business to residents and consumers during the important Christmas business season. That way, you can direct traffic to your business and other small businesses in the community at a time when you're more likely to make small purchases.

The focus on local traditions has another advantage: it's real. As national chains and large retail chains lower prices on the model of classic jingles, you and your neighborhood co-workers will launch a campaign that matches the community. As a result, the links you create to consumers and community members are deeper than a catchy commercial or eye-catching catalog. By connecting your business with a cherished tradition, you will leave a lasting impression that will serve your team into the new year.


3. Improve pathfinding.

If there has been a single indicator of the revival of inner-city districts in recent years, then there are more and more signposts. In these projects, downtown plazas and public spaces will become more attractive through the installation of signage to assist navigation. Signposts point visitors to public parking, attractions and public transport. They help people move more easily through downtown business districts, making it easier to access Main Street's shops. Especially during the busy shopping season on vacation, the accessibility for companies in the city center is essential.

For the holiday season, consider adding a festive signpost signage to your community. Send shoppers to small businesses, a Christmas light display, and the next shopping cart with hot chocolate. By making the main road more navigable, encourage local residents and visitors to explore all that downtown has to offer this time of year.

4. Think of the children.

The Christmas season feels especially magical if you are under 10 years old. When planning your church, do not forget to include the youngest residents. After all, most of the Christmas shopping is done by Santa Claus, right?

Give kids a small business scavenger hunt to keep them busy while their parents shop. They can look for a special gift or prize in every shop their parents visit, and local businesses can start building relationships with the next generation of consumers. Have local businesses take turns doing weekly activities for children (such as decorating ornaments) in their stores. In this way, parents have an incentive to visit various small shops every week during the Christmas shopping season. These tactics spread the fondness for small businesses in your community and allow them to make the most of Christmas after the Small Business Saturday.

5. Invest in online trading.

It is no secret that online shopping has skyrocketed over the last few holidays, and experts predict that the trend will continue. Deloitte's annual retail holiday projections predict online Christmas sales of nearly $ 150 billion in 2019. Retailers who are only active on the Internet and in large boxes will continue to struggle with free last-minute shipping and unbeatable prices for new platform for the mix.

Small businesses often have problems with online commerce. Whether it's a labor shortage or a prioritization product, failure to maintain an ecommerce platform can hurt businesses this season. To simplify online commerce, small businesses can work together to develop a platform for the Christmas season. You can create an online gift guide by promoting the hottest items from your combined collections in a single online store. Use an ecommerce tool like Shopify to simplify the use and management of the technology. Advertise your platform on Small Business Saturday so that customers can test it throughout the season.

It's still early, but your preparations for the Christmas shopping season should be in full swing. When planning, find ways to work with other small businesses in your community. When you get together for the holidays, your local business community can run bigger campaigns and get bigger results. This is not all about the big box this holiday season

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Investing in startups is a challenge with high risk and high returns. However, investors can increase their chances by following a few simple guidelines.

Image
Nothing gives you a perspective on how to invest in startups and vice versa. Since the founding of Clever Real Estate in 2017, I've had many moments of thinking about internal business decisions through the lens of an outside investor. ("If I thought about investing money in Clever, would that move inspire confidence or caution?") As part of a decision-making section, you can look at things from a more objective perspective, separate from your own rationalizations and blind spots. On the other hand, although my company is still in its infancy, I have already learned so much about what makes a startup successful and what can worsen its prospects. With these insights showing where I spend my money, I feel much safer in my startup investments. Will everyone meet? Of course not. But I like my chances. Here are some guidelines I have compiled based on my time inside and outside the startup investment world. Select the right company 1. Meet the founders. There is a l...
Read more

What is the difference between a payment gateway and a payment processor?

Image
If you are in the market for credit card processing solutions, you may have come across the terms "Payment Gateway" and "Payment Processor". Although these are two important, related elements of credit card processing, they are not the same. If you are not sure of the distinction, you are not alone. However, to make an informed purchase decision about your small business's ability to accept credit card payments, it's important to understand the nuances. This guide will familiarize you with payment gateways and payment processors. You'll also learn how both work together. If you plan to accept credit card payments online, you probably need both a payment gateway and a payment processor. Therefore, it is crucial for your small business to make the right choice. What is a payment portal? A payment gateway facilitates online credit card payments. This technology creates a secure connection between your company's website or browser and the credit ca...
Read more

How to Run A Successful Focus Group for Your Small Business

Image
How to run a successful focus group for your small business Learn how to set up a focus group that gives you useful insights into your audience. If you want to gather information from your audience about your business, setting up a focus group may be the right move for you. A focus group brings together a small group of strangers to gather their opinions and attitudes about a particular concept or product. In this way, companies can gather information and data to refine their strategies for improvement in the future. In 2017, companies worldwide spent a whopping $ 2.2 billion on focus groups. In the marketing world, focus groups can serve more than one purpose. They give insight into the thoughts of your target audience, so you know how they feel about your products and services. Many companies use these groups to test new products and features before they become available to the public. That way, they have a good idea of ​​how it works when it's available to everyone....
Read more