As we’re in the middle of the BIGGEST shopping days of the year, we wanted to share some ways you can support small and local businesses, without ever spending a penny!
While some of these actions seem tiny, they can make a big difference and go a long way to help drive exposure to small businesses.
- Connect them with people/companies in your network that may be synergistic for them. Have a friend who runs brand partnerships at a brand they may want to partner with? Know someone who invests in small businesses? If you see an opportunity to help them in some way through a personal connection of yours and you feel inclined, offer to make an introduction - some of the best business relationships come from networking and introductions made this way.
- Support and share their social media posts. Like, comment and share their social media and promotional posts when you see something you like or during super relevant moments (i.e. the holidays) to help drive the reach of their business to the people who follow you personally. Word-of-mouth and sharing can drive tremendous value, and social sharing takes almost no time at all.
- Recommend them to friends and family. Did you have a good experience? Tell your friends and family! See a friend post on social media about a need that a small business you know could help with? Comment with their business name and information. Again, any word-of-mouth that helps drive exposure for a small business is always welcomed.
- Leave a positive review. After a purchase and positive experience, be sure to see where and how you can share a positive review - this may be on the company’s site, on Facebook, on their Google business listing, or elsewhere. If you can’t find out where - just ask if there is a place you can or just offer them a quote they can use in marketing via email! Many small businesses love to promote positive words from their customers and clients.
- Ask how you can help provide any customer insight. If you are a customer or even a fan, offer the company feedback about what you think about their products, services, marketing or website. Offer to take any market research surveys or just email them cold with some ideas you have or things you love about their business! Most small businesses don’t have a lot of resources to do more formal market research, so this kind of feedback is incredibly valuable, and only requires a bit of your time.
Running a small business is no easy feat, so even when you can’t afford to spend, these little actions will go a long way.
Did you know? Happy Box is a small business that is also women, minority, and family owned!
