by Hope
Do you participate in Black Friday shopping, Cyber Monday or even Small Business Saturday? Traditionally, I have not paid the slightest attention to these “holidays.” In fact, I tend to avoid them as a cost saving measure. (The same with Tax Free Weekend.)
But, I am working on being more strategic as a small business owner, and want to take advantage of the marketing opportunities these “shopping days” give me. Since I don’t have a physical product, I am not sure how to use it to my advantage.
Upcoming “Shopping” Holidays
Saturday, November 30 – Small Business Saturday
Friday, November 29 – Black Friday
Monday, December 2 – Cyber Monday
Worth It for a Business Owner
I would love your input…
I offer a variety of services…some as hourly packages, some as one off consultations and then web design and refreshes. I thought I might offer special pricing on each type of service.
I could even offer a “new customer” special as well. Just brainstorming…
What do you think? Do specials that businesses offer during these “holidays” tempt you? Do you think it’s worth the effort to come up with something? Or money to advertise it? (Outside of my existing mailing lists, of course.)
And do you think that as a service business versus physical product that using these “holidays” is a good marketing move? I’m working on some marketing campaign assets now for a variety of my clients, so thought I would take the time to make some for myself as well. And I would love to hear your feedback.
Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.
But life has a way of rewriting your plans.
A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.
Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.
Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.
She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.
Hope,
It’s going to be very difficult to offer informed advice as the best decision really requires knowing a lot more about the details of your business than we have. But, based on my rough understanding from posts you made a few months ago, it seems that recently your challenge has not been so much in finding clients/billable hours, rather juggling all the work you already have. In that light, and in line with the suggestion I made at the time, offering a discount on your rate/services seems like a decision that would be counter productive.
One “sketchy” way to do it would be to raise your rates and then offer the current rate as the “discounted rate”. Plenty of companies do this or the equivalent (e.g. Amazon for many of their Prime Day “deals”), and it may even be appropriate if you are planning on raising your rates anyway. (Perhaps offer existing clients an opportunity to lock in a period of time at the old rate).