Small Business Marketing: Start Your Own Holiday

Photo (CC) by LeeHansen.com, on Flickr

If you have followed this blog, my colleague, Becky McCray, has provided lots of ideas for building communities and the small businesses in those areas. Her blogs have suggested things such as

Pop-ups – https://smallbizsurvival.com/2014/03/what-is-a-pop-up-business.html
Shared spaces – https://smallbizsurvival.com/2017/04/small-town-retail-trend-shared-spaces.html
Tiny businesses – https://smallbizsurvival.com/2017/03/tiny-businesses-in-storage-sheds-a-rural-economic-development-tool.html

I am adding another thought to this list by suggesting that a business or a community can start your own holiday.

Businesses and communities already celebrate events such as anniversaries, grand openings, founder’s day, etc. But maybe you have a quirky idea like bacon day or ball point pen day you would like to celebrate. Go ahead. Just look at Ground Hogs Day as a developed event. Several towns have made it a major event.

And just as certain events have already spread into other communities, there may be no reason you can’t bring an existing idea to your business and community as well (you may want to check on any intellectual property rights).

From Day 1, as you start making plans, think about the possibility of making it a yearly event. Where will you start this year and how might you expand in the future.

If you can’t think of an event, perhaps you just want to grab one of the special days, weeks or months already acknowledged. Some examples include:

National Ice Cream Day (third Sunday in July).
National Cheer Up the Lonely Day (July 11^th).
National Sneak Some Zucchini Into Your Neighbor’s Porch Day (August 8^th). Think of the contests and fun you could have with that.

And if nothing else excites you – National No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day (September 1^st). (Check out National Day Calendar (http://nationaldaycalendar.com/) for more ideas.)

Companies such as Amazon and Alibaba did this with their Amazon Prime Day (July 10^th) and National Singles Day. They didn’t even have an event but simply highlight a single day devoted to spending money in their system for some great deals. (http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-prime-day-vs-alibaba-singles-day-2017-7). You may say you don’t have the resources for such an event but start small. You aren’t looking to do an international event the first year.

So as you plan your marketing, don’t be limited to what exists. Feel free to create new opportunities.

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About Glenn Muske

Glenn Muske is an independent expert on rural small business, working as GM Consulting – Your partner in achieving small business success. He provides consulting, and writes articles for county extension agents and newspapers across North Dakota. Previously, he was the Rural and Agribusiness Enterprise Development Specialist at the North Dakota State University Extension Service – Center for Community Vitality.