fbpx In 2014, about 88 million people shopped at small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, which is about 15% more than the number of shoppers in 2013. Has your business started to prepare for Small Business Saturday? Read the RICS blog series about Small Business Saturday to learn more about how to prepare your store for the big day. This post will focus on rallying the neighborhood to get everyone involved. By rallying your neighborhood, you can create more awareness about Small Business Saturday and attract as many customers as possible! Some ideas for bringing the community together on this Saturday in November are to host an event by throwing a block party, having a concert, or a special breakfast. This will give your neighbors a little extra incentive to come out and shop local. Make it easy for people to get to your event so it’s not a hassle or inconvenience. You should also decorate and show your spirit around town with Small Business Saturday decorations. Involve local businesses and invite them to be apart of your event. Lastly, don’t forget to promote your event. Spread the word on social media, contact the press, and invite a local radio station to come to your event. To learn more about rallying your neighborhood or becoming a neighborhood champion, which means you are responsible for organizing these events or activities, click here. Another great way to get your neighbors involved is to partner with other small businesses to make the most out of your time and money. Businesses can help each other promote their stores, co-host events, and offer discounts for shoppers of the other partner, allowing both businesses to reach a wider variety of audiences while increasing awareness of both of the stores. For instance, if you own a small gift shop, and your next door neighbor owns a paper store, you could provide your customer discounts to get their gift wrapped at your neighbors store, and vice versa. Instead of competing with your neighbors, you are collaborating so everybody wins! Looking for more ways to succeed on Small Business Saturday? Check out last month’s post to learn about the history of SBS, how to incorporate SBS into your holiday marketing campaigns, and learning from businesses that previously took part in SBS.