Why Using a Small Business Saturday Promotion vs. a Black Friday Deal Makes More Sense for Small Businesses
- simplyk2mktg
- Nov 13
- 8 min read
We're talking about our recommendation, plus hows to's, and execution ideas no matter if you're a retailer or service provider. Hint: It involves email!
As we edge closer to the busiest sales weekend of the year, Black Friday (BF) through Cyber Monday (now Cyber week), an important question in small business owners’ minds is whether to run a promotion and when during this weekend. It’s especially critical, as most businesses earn between 19% and 26% of their annual sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so they need to get both the promotion and timing right.
We believe small businesses should choose a Small Business Saturday (SBS) promotion over a Black Friday one both greater visibility and to create a meaningful connection their local community.
The History of Black Friday and Small Business Saturday
Black Friday
While the term “Black Friday” was coined in the late 1800s it wasn’t until 1980 when retailers in the Philadelphia area began promoting "Black Friday" as a major shopping day after Thanksgiving. The name reflected the stores’ ability to go from being in the red to in the black financially. The term and practice spread nationally and today we see “Black Friday Deals” that extend well ahead and beyond the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Small Business Saturday
Launched by American Express in 2010, Small Business Saturday is a celebration of small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving created to inspire shoppers to support local businesses. Today Small Business Saturday runs in all 50 states and is recognized by consumers and supported by the Small Business Association to help spur the Shop Small®/shop local movement.
3 Reasons Why Small Businesses Should Leverage a Small Business Saturday Promotion Over a Black Friday Deal
Some believe that offering a Black Friday Deal is a must, but in our opinion, waiting to share yours on Small Business Saturday can help your business and promotion stand out from the competition.
To start, we recommend promoting your offers via email. (61% of consumers want to receive promotions via email and this channel can provide ≥38% ROI over other marketing channels. Did we mention they’re free to send?) However, to be successful you need to be strategic.
Here are Simply K2 Marketing’s three reasons why small businesses should leverage Small Business Saturday Over Black Friday Deals:
Fewer Emails are Sent on Weekends, Which Means You’ll Stand Out Did you know, that according to Email List Verify, we receive an average of 100-120 emails per day, Monday - Friday? These totals steadily increase as we edge closer and closer to Black Friday and brands up their frequency of 1-2 emails per week to 2-3 emails per week (some may even email two times in one day, if they email daily.) Multiply that by each brand and the inbox get crowded.
Conversely the inbox is dramatically smaller on the weekends with approx. 20-40/day or less received, and once Black Friday (the day) is done, many big box and large retailers skip the inbox until Cyber Monday. This means your business has a greater chance of being seen on Small Business Saturday.
Offers That Are Meaningful Create Conversions The biggest tip we can share is don’t discount everything. Having too many products on sale, can actually create paralysis and a customer will leave your site or shop without buying anything. You also risk cheapening your brand or conditioning buyers to only shop when you discount vs. shopping based on need and value. (As a small business owner, your profit margin may not be able to handle too many discounts.)
Instead take the time to thoughtfully consider what is most valuable in the minds of your customers. Is there a way to tie it an experience? For example, what if a portion of your sales goes to supporting a local charity or you create a sip and shop, provide early access or add a freebie that creates a bundled offer.
Customers and fans of small businesses value trust and connection over deep discounts. According to Klaviyo, consumers look for incentives from the brands they love vs. waiting for the best deal, preferring a discount 10%-15% discounts of 20%-25% off. Local stores and service providers can provide what big box stores can’t when it comes to selling one-of-a-kind pieces, tailored services, responsive customer service, and other personal touches.
Small Business Saturday Promotions Support Your Local Community While big box stores may lure people in with deep discounts, promoting a deal on Small Business Saturday creates a meaningful connection to your local community.
Did you know? The Small Business Association, shares that for every dollar spent at a local shop, $0.68 stays in the local community. These purchases also create an additional $0.48 in local business activity (meaning they’ll keep shopping locally). Deep down we know that while the big box deals may be good, there’s no ROI for our communities which are typically made up of 99% small business owners like you.
ProTips on Standing Out with Your Small Business Saturday Promotion
Frequency Matters - Promote Your Offer More than Once
Highly competitive promotions on “holidays” like these. need to be share more than once. Ideally you’ll want to start teasing an upcoming promotion well ahead of the weekend’s sales so you’re on your customers radar, sending something 3-4 times. If you haven’t started yet, you’re not too late. As long as you can share more about your upcoming promotion, 1-2 times ahead it can be successful.
First, create excitement. We love sharing teasers vs. the whole promotion. Share it across email, social media and even your website. (Consumers check all three.) Consider, “Save the Date,” benefits if they participate, and a favorite of ours, “You’ll miss out if you’re not on our VIP list,” (to drive new email subscriptions) and more. Customers respond to different channels to take in information, which is why you want to include information on social media and your website. Just be clear on where to find your SBS deal that will drive them to the website or in-store to redeem.
Create Offers Worth Opening
We understand that profit margins for small business are tight. There is no requirement that a SBS or a BF promo has to be in the form of a discount. Instead think about experiences benefit the customer beyond the deal. Here are a few examples:
Early Access for the most valued customers
Free gift wrapping and coupon for future purchase
Save by Booking Now for Use in 2026 (Offer 2025 rates now for work done in 2026)
Add additional dollars to Gift cards (Buy gift card for $50 Get $65)
Subject Lines Matter
Intrigue, Desire, Scarcity, Questions, Implicit Egotism… these are just a few of the ways to approach a subject line that grabs the attention of your target audience. The goal of the subject line is to get them to open the email. Here are five subject line examples we like:
Pssst….
3… Days… Left…
Save Now vs Paying More Next Month
VIP Status & Access Only for Our Favorite Customers
One Day To Save & Win New Customers
*while emojis are not shown above these are great ways to boost open rates. See below
2 Hot Tips Jay Schwedelson of Guru Media Hub to Boost Open Rates
Leave the Pre-Header Blank. This is the line that follows the subject line in your inbox. (I often use it to add additional selling point. It’s impactful when it’s missing as you can see here.
Use emoji’s or numbers at the start of your subject line to boost open and click rates
Depending on your audience these can raise your opens by ≥15%. Note, these are more effective at the beginning of your subject line vs. at the end. That said, test, test, test to see what works best for you.
Offers Small Business Retailer and Service Providers Can Share for Small Business Saturday
Now that you’ve decided to move forward with a Small Business Saturday offer, you need to decide what it is. Consider ideas that are tied to experiences or add value to enhance the deal.
Promotions for Retailers on Small Business Saturday
Here are three ideas for retailers that don’t include traditional across the board discounts.
Early Access (or Special Hours) For Holiday Weekend Sales Extend these to your most valuable customers, those who’ve already purchased and have joined your email list. Why This Works: It makes customers feel special and provides an intimate shopping experience.
Collaborate with another local business Example a clothing store could bring in a local stylist to help customers pick out outfits for themselves or others. The stylist can offer coupon for a closet refresh or styling session etc. as part of the collaboration.
Why This Works: Customers feel pampered and in this case the stylist gains awareness and new leads. The partnership also shows customers how much you value other small businesses in your local community.
Hide coupons in the store or surprise them at the register with a fortune cookie or drawing. Discounts can be applied immediately or on a future date.
Why This Works: It taps into the Surprise and Delight strategy. People are not expecting it when they come to shop, or don’t know what the total percentage off.
Promotions for Service Providers on Small Business Saturday
Service providers also have a chance to shine on Small Business Saturday that create a value add approach vs. discounts. Here are three we like:
Create a Bundle or Bonus Item The name of the service game is always added value. Is there a checklist, topline audit, or brand guidelines for the new logo you created?
Why This Works: Bundling a full priced offer, with a freebie that may be easy for you to execute, add value and supports a prospects business success. Plus it gives them more reasons to keep working with you if done right.
Pre-book Now To Build Client Retention If you raise your rates each year, offer existing clients the chance to lock-in current rates now by pre-booking (and paying) for the time/a contract for next year. This is a tactic small business owner, Saraphina Churchill of Images by Saraphina has used for several years now.
Why This Works: Not only are you increasing your retention and keeping good clients (yes you can select whom you offer this to), you can improve cash flow in quarters that are slow and ensure that you’re busy in the new year. As Saraphina shared, “This offer allows me thank my clients for staying with me and helps my business with client retention.”
Discount a Smaller Service That Can Lead to a Larger Ticket Item A great example here is an audit. For a smaller fee, these give customers a taste for what could use some work and how you can help them with their business success.
Why This Works: It’s almost a try before you buy, but the audit results are valuable regardless of whether they sign on for more and you’ll make money.
To stand out from the crowd at the start of the holiday season promote a Small Business Saturday offer over a Black Friday Deal. You'll get seen more easily and create a meaningful experience with your target audience while boosting your local community. At Simply K2 Marketing, our mission is all about building stronger, kinder communities. It's just one reason we love using Small Business Saturday promotions over Black Friday deals that are based on a value-add approach or experience, not deep discounts, to boost the local economy and find small business wins. We hope these reasons, tips and tools will help whatever promotion you choose a success.
Will you be trying a Small Business Saturday promotion this year or sticking to a Black Friday deal? Tell me why in a comment.