American Express is showing their support of independent merchants by announcing that they will sponsor and promote “Small Business Saturday” on the weekend after Thanksgiving.
Says AMEX CEO Kenneth Chenault, “This is the start of a movement.” Chenault noted that large retailers have Black Friday and online retailers have Cyber Monday, “and now, starting on Nov. 27 of this year, small business owners will have Small Business Saturday.”
This presents some terrific opportunities but you need to jump on them right now. The first 10,000 small business owners who sign up to participate will receive $100 worth of Facebook advertising. That’s free marketing money!
And check this out: American Express will give a $25 credit to 100,000 of its cardholders who pledge to use their cards at independent businesses on Nov. 27. I’ve signed up and will be using my card at an independent business that day.
Start here at http://smallbusinesssaturday.com/ and click on Get Involved. Join the movement and register your store, then get your Facebook credits by clicking on the For Your Biz page.
You can sign up for the $25 AMEX card credit from the Facebook page or here. As long as you take American Express (and it’s up to you but I firmly believe you should) you can tell your community on Facebook and in your newsletter to sign up and spend the $25 with you. It’s like free product! Remember, the $25 credit is only available to the first 100,000 who sign up, so move quickly.
Small Business Saturday may take a few years to catch on, but with American Express’s support this initiative will have legs. You might as well leverage it.
