However, there are still things for businesses of all types (and especially small businesses) to be thankful for during this holiday season. Keeping the positive attitude that stems from these successes and using all avenues to promote your business puts the odds in your favor to make it into the next year and stay around for many years to come.
1. Social Media Marketing - Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Google+ and so many more social networking sites have popped up over the last few years and have flourished. Using social networking sites to market your business can be a free and easy way to start gaining loyal clients for years to come. For a small fee, many online marketing companies can take care of this for you and update on a consistent basis, allowing more time for you to focus on the expansion and preservation of your company.
2. Employee Loyalty - Many people may feel that employee loyalty is purely because of how difficult it is to find a job in our current economic state. However, it has become so much more than that. Employees, who previously may have jumped ship due to small idiosyncrasies they didn't enjoy, will now work through them. Employees also now are so thankful to have a job, they put more effort and pride into their work in hopes of growing with the company that gave them the gift of financial survival.
3. Shop Small Movement - "Shop Small Saturday" takes place the day after Black Friday and encourages shoppers to choose small businesses for their holiday shopping. This movement is supported by multiple large companies including American Express. With the hype Shop Small Saturday has been getting, the largest shopping weekend of the year should turn out to be very profitable for all small businesses.
4. New Ways to Finance - Let's face it, loans are really difficult to qualify for these days. However, new ways to finance larger business ventures have been popping up including microloans and small business grants.
5. Repeat Customers - With all the difficulties that have arisen for businesses in the last few years, a strong &loyal clientele is key to a company's continued success. These days, more people are likely to open their wallets for small businesses they grown to know and love. They want to see your company survive and as long as you continuing offering superior products and/or giving excellent service, your client-base will only grow. Continuing to please your current customers will give way to a word-of-mouth phenomenon that will have all of their friends becoming your clients soon enough.
