It can be difficult for small businesses to outshine big name competitors around the holiday season. To compete with corporate price-slashing promotions during Black Friday, mom-and-pop shops across the country have rallied around Small Business Saturday. The event reminds American consumers to support their local communities by patronizing independently owned companies.
Freedman Jewelers is a third-generation family-owned business in Boston that’s embraced contemporary marketing strategies to build visibility around Small Business Saturday and strengthen its customer base. ContentLEAD recently caught up with Chief Marketing Officer Josh Freedman (grandson of the company’s founder David Freedman), who gave us some insights about how his business has been so successful with the event.
Q: Why you participate in Small Business Saturday?
We have been running campaigns ever since American Express launched the event. After I heard about it, I did some research and decided to promote it and bring awareness to the event and our company. It’s kind of like the same thing that Black Friday does for big box stores.
As a jewelry store, we sell high-ticket items. So, we’re not really getting people in who are looking to make an impulse buy. But, it’s still a good incentive for them to come in a couple of weeks before the holidays and start looking for those special occasions when they’ll actually buy.
I think the event is particularly good for SMBs and family owned businesses because it brings awareness. People appreciate that local support.
Q: What have you done in the past to make people aware of your SMB Saturday events?
In 2011, I made a blog post about the event and promoted our sale through different social media channels. Our go-tos are Facebook and Twitter, but we also use email newsletters.
We changed our approach slightly last year. I did my own incentive on top of the one American Express offers (which is a $10 statement credit for spending $10 at a participating small business). We doubled that to $25 and it seemed to help a bit. Our sales in 2012 were better for that day than in 2011, but it’s hard to say if that’s because of the bigger incentive or just more awareness around the event.
Q: What are you planning for this year?
This year, we’ll be running the same $25 credit deal. Small Business Saturday falls on November 30th, and we’re starting to work on a blog post in advance and people can find it through search traffic. A few weeks before, we will send an email to our database.
And as the event gets closer, we’ll promote it on Facebook and Twitter all the days leading up to it. We’ll also send out an email reminder two or three weeks before and then week before.
We’re starting to get people from all over the U.S. on our site because we offer content and photos and jewelry online.
Q: How do you connect with Boston locals looking for jewelers year round?
We’ve worked with local press to get writeups in advance of events, but we’re definitely more involved in social media and SEO than outbound marketing. We’re working to get as much content online as possible – promotional content for events, educational resources (information about birthstones, diamond buying guides, proposal tips, etc.). We do research on everything that people might be interested in. Right now, I’m working on an engagement ring ebook that will tackle topics like how to budget, different styles and ideas for how to ask her parents. We try to keep it interesting and fun.
Now, we’ve been trying to make our website content more interactive – showing cuts from different angles, etc. We’re starting to get people from all over the U.S. on our site because we offer content and photos and jewelry online. Eventually, we want a site with more online purchasing capabilities. Some of the bigger sites do a really good job with photographing jewelry in an interactive way. We want to keep the small business feel, but be in the 21st century – Blend both worlds.
Q: What channel (social, search, email) do you focus on primarily? Which drives the most results?
For the most part, search is our most valuable channel for sales. It’s the most common way people find out site and we get a lot of leads that way. It’s also the most consistent ROI driver. We don’t send out too many emails. Once a year for people’s birthdays or anniversaries, we’ll send a gift card. Or, we deliver email newsletters every month or so unless there’s a big promotion like this.
SEO, blogging and search is really where we get all new leads.
We promote content on social three or four times a week. We do a little on Pinterest and Instagram, but SEO, blogging and search is really where we get all new leads. There’s definite value in email marketing because it’s a way to connect with people we’ve dealt with in the past and have relationships with.
Q: What would you tell fellow business owners about how online marketing for Small Business Saturday efforts can work toward larger corporate goals (for lead gen, conversion)?
Our annual efforts build traffic, but they don’t necessarily drive immediate sales. There may be someone who didn’t purchase when they first discovered us, but they’ll find us when searching for a Small Business Saturday event. It’s a great for reconnecting with customers, and doing so in a way that’s natural to their regular behavior (using the internet).
Small Business Saturday is a great opportunity for local companies to engage with their local communities, and smart web marketing can help them foster connections that will keep the sales pipeline filled year round.
The post Freedman Jewelers sparkles on Small Business Saturday: Winning sales with web marketing appeared first on ContentLEAD.