Small Business Saturday is a prime opportunity for small businesses to promote their brand and take advantage of an eager-to-shop audience. However, with nearly 32 million independent businesses, competition is fierce.
Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to prepare for Small Business Saturday can provide the shortcut you need to get more eyes on your business. Below are some AI prompts to help create campaigns, offerings, and experiences that will get your small business noticed.
What is Small Business Saturday?
Founded by American Express in 2010, Small Business Saturday celebrates independently owned businesses nationwide by encouraging consumers to “Shop Small” during the holiday season. The event occurs annually, kicking off the holiday season by putting a spotlight on locally owned and small businesses while inspiring consumers to support and spend within their local communities rather than at big-box retailers. Hosted on the last Saturday of November, this year’s Small Business Saturday event will occur on November 30, 2024.
AI prompts to support your small business impact
With 91% of businesses using AI expecting it to drive future growth, it’s time to consider adding it to your Small Business Saturday strategy to simplify your sales efforts. Here’s how to get started.
Craft attention-getting marketing campaigns
From building buyer personas to writing engaging product descriptions, AI can help small businesses develop successful Small Business Saturday marketing campaigns from start to finish. Before launching, AI can assist with market research and creating the right brand voice. It can also handle customer segmentation, helping to identify your target audience’s needs and potential pain points that could be good to market toward.
AI can even analyze purchasing behaviors and study customer feedback from previous years to help improve your strategy.
Try this prompt: “I’m a small business owner preparing for Small Business Saturday. Can you help me create a unique marketing plan that considers the buyer experience during the holiday season?”
[Read more: AI and CRM: Combining Two Powerful Technologies to Grow Your Small Business]
Design personalized offers and discounts
Ahead of Small Business Saturday, you’ll want to get your audience’s attention by standing out among other businesses’ promotions and limited-time deals. AI can help by creating personalized offers catered to your audience’s interests and past purchases, making them more likely to choose your business during the holiday rush.
By analyzing customer accounts, AI can identify items in their shopping cart and from their purchase history, as well as new offerings that may interest them. From there, your business can create personalized promotions — which can be shared via email, social media, and targeted ads — demonstrating an understanding of your customers’ needs and making them feel valued.
Try this prompt: “Analyze this customer dataset to determine which items they are most likely to purchase. Then, create personalized offers tailored to their preferences that can be promoted during Small Business Saturday.”
By observing historical data and identifying patterns, small businesses can use AI to predict which items are most and least likely to sell during Small Business Saturday.
Improve customer engagement and experience
During Small Business Saturday and the ensuing holiday season, customer inquiries tend to surge. AI can support customer service representatives by providing recommended solutions and personalized scripts tailored to each customer's needs, ensuring issues are resolved quickly and accurately.
When your team is unavailable, AI chatbots can offer 24/7 customer support, eliminating the need for additional staffing. This allows businesses to scale and quickly handle customer issues — sometimes without human involvement — which will lower operational costs while improving the customer experience. Plus, by matching your brand’s tone, AI chatbots can reinforce your brand persona across all interactions.
Try this prompt: “Reference customer inquiries from previous holiday seasons, accounting for customer demographics and preferences, to create recommended scripts to assist with common issues during Small Business Saturday.”
[Read more: AI Tools That Can Help You Start, Run, and Grow Your Small Business]
Streamline inventory management and sales forecasting
AI can also help small businesses with inventory management and sales forecasting behind the scenes. By observing historical data and identifying patterns, small businesses can use AI to predict which items are most and least likely to sell during Small Business Saturday. This ensures proper budgeting and stocking enough inventory to prevent selling out and missing potential revenue.
AI can take sales forecasting further by analyzing purchasing habits alongside factors like customer demographics, inventory levels, prices, and market trends. This helps businesses make more intelligent decisions during the holiday season, promoting the right products to the right audience at the optimal time.
Try this prompt: “Use this data to create a sales forecast that highlights what items are most likely to sell during the holiday season. Identify which items are least likely to sell as well.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation is partnering with American Express to support small business. Are your customers proud to Shop Small? Order your complimentary stickers through the below link and share them with your customers on November 30th. Order your complimentary stickers here by November 20, 2024. Stickers will be shipped to your store. While supplies last.
CO— aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.
CO—is committed to helping you start, run and grow your small business. Learn more about the benefits of small business membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, here.
