Do you say thank you for supporting my small business? Many people make a conscious effort to support small or local business owners. Amazon and other big guys may be the easy route but your customers choose to shop small. They want to support families and communities through shopping small businesses. While most small businesses can’t compete with retail giants they can provide a special experience to their supporters. After finding support for your small business (click here for ideas), owners should always find ways to show appreciation. This article gives small business owners 5 creative ways to say thank you for supporting my small business. The customer appreciation ideas we suggest will work for local or online small business with or without an online presence. Join our e-mail list at the end of this article to get our fun small business appreciation design to share, print or post!
1. Thank You Notes
Your small business can use thank you notes a simple gesture that can go a long way. A thank you note can be included in orders or sent out after services are rendered. The thank you can be handwritten, an email or even a little stamp on a shipping package. This practice is low cost and quick, but it adds a personal touch that sets your small business apart from other big retailers. The thank you note also serves as a reminder for them to be proud that they supported a small business. Using a small business quote such as “When you support a small business you support a family” with the thank you note will highlight the importance of their support. Our last ideas ties in with this one, so make sure to get to the end of the article to get even more ideas.
2. Thank You Sales
Specials and private sales are a great way to encourage others to support your small business. Sales for people who participate in your social media, are past customers, or are on your email list can serve as great incentive. Having private or flash sale code that is only announced on social media or an email list will reward those who support your small business. The easiest way to sell is to customers who trusts and support you so this type of reward is an obvious way to increase sales while giving you a loyal base of supporters,
3. Thank You Treats
Small businesses need to stick together, so when sharing treats in your business or online try to find a way to support other small businesses. You may choose to include holiday candy from another small business with customers in person or in their shipped orders. Sharing treats with your supporters can be a great way for you to collaborate with another small business and share the support. This thoughtful practice also serves as a pleasant surprise and helps build your relationship with your customers. A customer or supporter is more likely to repeat with a small business that they feel connected too. An added bonus is they are also more likely to recommend your small business to others. Using something from another small business shows that you are also willing to do what you want from them, support a small business.
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4. Thank You Promotions
In our first article, we shared the importance of building relationships with other small business online and within your community. That supportive relationship can turn into a partnership that can benefit both small business. A giveaway for customers between small business is a low cost way to build loyalty and grow your customer base. For example, a nail salon may serve treats from the bakery next door and the bakery may do a giveaway with customers for a free manicure. Online small businesses can run a contest with other small businesses that may share a similar customer base. A joint giveaway between 3 different small business that share the same customer base can team up and triple their exposure without competing. A small business that sell baby blankets, a local store that sells custom baby name signs, and a expert in baby proofing guides can each donate an item for the giveaway and then promote it to their customers. All the small business get in front of the audiences of the other small businesses, while showing their support for other small businesses. This method has proven to be very successful for growing small businesses, while giving more sizable promotions and giveaways by pulling their resources together.
5. Thank You Shout Outs
Using social media to do thank you “shout outs” can be one the most powerful low cost tools to show appreciation to your supporters. It already feels great to support a small business, but it is even better when you are recognized and appreciated for actions. Recognizing support for your business on social media has this main benefit, but it also encourages others to who view the post to do the same. Many small business owners have seen great success using this method at least once a week on their social media accounts. We have free and custom graphics to get you started with thank you shout outs. Get our free Thank You For Supporting My Small Business graphic below, so you can start using this idea with your supporters!