Here’s a quick idea to show your business’s support of the various Shop Local * Small Business Saturday * Support Downtown movements. You can actually
bring real-life inspiration and experience, first-hand, to your message of
“Avoid chain store/ Big Box stores/ mall merchants”.
Keep a record of every single small business, locally-owned venue, downtown Mom&Pop you patronize. An easy way to do this is to grab their business card when you shop, buy, eat, sip, order a service (printing? flowers delivered?) in a local business. Ask your staffers to do so as well.
Then get a big piece of poster board or Foamcore, headline it “We shop local! We hope you do too!”, glue those business cards onto it, and put it in your shop’s entry. Say, the week that ends in Small Business Saturday November 24, the American Express promotion?
What does this do? Shows you walk the talk. Inspires talk in your shop (Oh, did you try that new cafe out on the river? How was it?) Builds awareness of local businesses and lets your business help theirs. Keeps your money local (the money spent at the local hardware store saves the clerk’s job, the clerk who shops in your shop!)
Who knows, your little movement and sign might even be worthy of a press release:
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
[…] If you have a bit more free time make this interaction-building poster in your shop for Small Business Saturday. Poster board and a glue stick make some great getting-to-know-you […]
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Never had any intention of not enjoying their promotion, just wondering what their deal is with the much higher rates…I am sort of a snoop that way lol…no I can’t say I feel any more positive towards them since I figure the promotion must be only to make them LOOK better not be better….maybe they are targeting the really high end boutiques that do have a much higher income client list, and us bargain shopper magnets are just part of it by side-effect..I do have a few really wealthy consignors and shoppers but not enough to make me accept American Express…only had one person ever even try to use it…and she just whipped out a different card when I could not take it …no worries!
i shopped at 3 consignment stores in Worcester MA…Blackstone Vignettes, Alexis Grace Consignment & K Couture…great, but very different, experiences in all 3…
And you’ve started your business card collection for your in-shop poster, right? And started drafting your press release, to go to the media in good time to be a “Small Biz Saturday: How Shopkeepers Do It” article, right? Good on ya!
you should see my in-shop poster of local small businesses! would make you proud 🙂
What, they don’t have cameras where you live? 😉
😉 done….now to figure out how to upload here & we’ll be all set….i’ll work on it today….
At What A Find! we also do not accept American Express!
It’s crazy how none of the small businesses even accept AM Express, because it’s just too costly for us. But all of the small merchants in my area take advantage of this Sm Business shopping day 11/24. This is the 2nd year we have taken advantage of their promotion! All the merchants team up and put on a block party! It was a GREAT success last year between all the connections the different merchants have(great PR)! Last year people came into our shops and said they were there to support local shopping and they ALL left every shop with a purchase! So many people had never even been to our area in L.A. before. My Kid Resale shop is the hub for the families and I put on special family events all day. Each shop does their own sale, promotion or event! Your customers will love you teaming up with other local businesses!! We even got our local council member as a sponsor to print up all the posters and flyers. Also Yelp is donating all the important orange balloons that are outside each participating shop. Check out our links below.
http://wehearteaglerockblock.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/events/536323999717647/
Traci Green of The Green Bean
Traci, this looks like a fun event. Congratulations on bonding with your neighbors! The Sponsor shops of http://HowToConsign.com/find.htm would love to have your vim and energy working to polish our industry as well, and welcome you to join them at http://HowToConsign.com/sponsor.htm
The promotion by American Express is good, but American Express is the only credit card my debit/credit vendor won’t accept because their rate is higher than anyone else..does anyone understand their strategy?
Jan, we talking AmEx strategy? Obviously, they’ve noticed that many small businesses do not accept their card… so this development of Small Business Saturday casts them in a more pleasant light. Why NOT put their considerable weight, and expertise, behind this promotion? Don’t YOU feel at least slightly more positive towards them?
Love the poster idea. I might even add to that and have my customers list the shops they frequent. Could be an interesting press release. Thanks Kate!