Supporting small businesses has never been as important as it is this holiday season!
Fresh out of the struggles of the pandemic, small businesses have been immediately hit with the cost of living crisis, another huge blow for business.
It is estimated three quarters have lost customers amid on-going cost of living pressures.
Small businesses are vital to our communities, they create job opportunities to locals, they circulate their profit back into the local economy and they build community identity.
If we do not support these diverse and innovate local businesses on our doorsteps, we will lose them.
If you are in a position to shop local rather than commercial, it goes without saying that this is the most obvious way to show your support, however there are other less obvious ways to support your favourite small businesses.
Follow them on social media, like, comment and share their posts. In a world where online presence is basically everything, a simple like and share of your favourite barber’s business post can go along way. This simple gesture will give their posts more reach plus you’ll become an advocate for their company. It is free exposure to the business and it costs you nothing either.
Tag friends who would like them, essentially a digital word-of-mouth strategy, letting your friends know a business exists, and at the same time boosting a small businesses algorithm!
Write a positive review, how many times have you checked the reviews of a restaurant or a product before purchasing? Your positive review for your favourite Thai restaurant run by your best friend from school could be what encourages others to check it out.
Give feedback, constructive feedback is great for any business, all businesses welcome this because they want to improve their services, just remember there is a right way to execute this!
Sign up to newsletters, help your neighbour’s florist grow their email list and share the link on your socials encouraging others to do so too.
Recommend to friends and family, word of mouth is one of the quickest ways to grow a business, for example if someone you know is looking for work, recommend your local recruitment agency!
At Wick Hollow we are community focused so realise how important it is to support our smaller neighbouring businesses, it has been a tough year all round and these small simple steps can make a huge difference.
We hope you enjoy the holidays!
Sam – Marketing manager | Wick Hollow
