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Holiday Marketing 6: Support your service providers

By Becky McCray

Shopping bag labeled "Shift your shopping"We’re all using the same marketing theme this year: Shift Your Shopping. When we work together to spread the word, we’ll multiply how many customers we reach.

This week, the focus is on the local businesses that help you do business.

Think about all the other businesses you rely on. Who sells you supplies? Who produces the products you sell? Who does your bookkeeping or sells you insurance? Who is your bank? Who takes care of your maintenance or fixes your equipment?

Every business you depend on is also helping build a stronger community. 

Pick a favorite one, and write a three-sentence story about them. Be sure to tag them or mention them by name so they can find it. End by saying, “Together, we’re making a better community. When you shift just a little more of your shopping to local stores, you help us all. #ShiftYourShopping.” You can do this on Facebook or Instagram, or in print ads you’re planning to run.

While you’re online, look up your fellow local stores. See if they have posted their mini-stories yet. When you find them, like and share them!

Kind of makes you feel good to know you’re giving a little thank you to another business, doesn’t it? You might as well feel even better and do a few of these.

Shift Your Shopping is our group theme for holiday marketing this year. You have my permission to forward these articles to your local retailers, merchants association, chamber of commerce, downtown development group or any one else you think would benefit from them. All you need to do is list the author as Becky McCray of SmallBizSurvival.com and then let me know who you are sharing with.

 

Shift Your Shopping 2015 series:

  1. Picking your Holiday 2015 marketing theme
  2. Set your cover photos
  3. Spotlight a local business
  4. Spotlight on community
  5. Share the causes you care about
  6. Support your service providers
  7. Small Business Saturday
  8. Tell your founding story

 

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
  • Zoom Towns: attracting and supporting remote workers in rural small towns - December 10, 2020
  • In an economic crisis, spend your brainpower before your dollars - November 25, 2020
  • Video: How to fill empty car dealership buildings for the holidays - November 6, 2020
  • How has 2020 changed the challenges rural small towns face? Tell us here - October 20, 2020
  • The Idea Friendly Method to surviving a business crisis - October 6, 2020
  • Join me for the Rural Renewal Symposium online Oct 13 - September 26, 2020
  • Cheap placemaking idea: instant murals - September 11, 2020
  • Refilling the rural business pipeline - July 7, 2020
  • Huge vacant buildings: grants to renovate? - June 9, 2020
  • Economic self defense for small towns  - June 7, 2020

November 16, 2015 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, marketing, ShiftYourShopping emails, shop local Tagged With: service businesses

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Trackbacks

  1. Holiday Marketing 5: Share the causes you care about says:
    November 16, 2015 at 8:16 am

    […] Support your service providers […]

  2. Just about marketing | Rural New York Small Business Owner says:
    November 24, 2015 at 10:42 am

    […] a boost to other local businesses is good for all businesses in a community.  Pick a local service provider you depend on and feature it in a three-sentence story with a photo that you post on your blog, […]

  3. Picking your Holiday 2015 marketing theme says:
    November 29, 2015 at 2:12 pm

    […] Support your service providers […]

  4. Holiday Marketing 4: Spotlight on Community says:
    November 29, 2015 at 2:13 pm

    […] Support your service providers […]

  5. Holiday marketing 3: Spotlight a local business says:
    November 29, 2015 at 2:14 pm

    […] Support your service providers […]

  6. Holiday marketing 2015 – Set your cover photos says:
    November 29, 2015 at 2:15 pm

    […] Support your service providers […]

  7. Holiday Marketing 7: Small Business Saturday says:
    November 29, 2015 at 2:16 pm

    […] Support your service providers […]

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