I can remember our station group making a pretty big deal out of Small Business Saturday the first few years. Somewhere along the way, though, it faded into a weak information page on our website. A listener could go there, learn why shopping locally mattered, and leave with absolutely no idea which store to visit on Saturday. Looking back, that’s the part I’d change. We knew people who could give our listeners a dozen good reasons to get in the car. We called on them for advertising all year.
American Express started Small Business Saturday in 2010 to encourage people to spend some of their holiday shopping money at small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Independent merchants were coming through a tough economy, and the idea was to give them a day of their own during one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year. The U.S. Small Business Administration became an official co-sponsor in 2011. This year, Small Business Saturday falls on November 28.
Ask a question worth putting on the air
If I were putting this together at a station today, I’d start with one question for local business owners. “If one of our listeners walked into your place Saturday with $30 and somebody on their Christmas list, what would you show them?” Ask the owner of the hardware store, the woman who runs the bookstore, and the guy behind the counter at the bait shop. Give each of them thirty seconds and see what you get.
Think about the difference that makes on the air. “Remember to shop local this Saturday” gives a listener something to agree with. Hearing the bait shop owner explain which three lures he’d pick for a kid getting her first tackle box might take care of a gift that listener has been trying to figure out for two weeks. It also lets the owner do what probably earned him customers in the first place. He gets to help somebody pick out the right thing.
Your sales staff can get those conversations started, but I’d also have the morning show ask listeners, “Which local business has helped you find a gift you never would’ve thought of yourself?” That’s how you hear about the pottery studio tucked behind the feed store that nobody at the station has ever called on. Now you’ve got a tip from a listener, a reason to call the owner, and something worth talking about tomorrow morning.
Give the website a job
I’d still build a page. I’d want someone sitting in a parking lot Saturday morning to be able to pull it up on their phone and decide where to go next. Each entry needs the business name, the owner’s gift idea, a price, Saturday hours, and a link for directions. A photo of the gift helps. Organize the ideas the way people shop, with headings like “Gifts under $25,” “For somebody who has everything,” or “Something you can do together.” Give the page a short address your air staff can say without slowing down to spell it.
There’s a sales opportunity here, too. Give local businesses a free way to submit a gift idea, then offer a clearly identified sponsorship of the guide and its on-air mentions. That gives a community bank or credit union a chance to support merchants it does business with. It also gives your sellers a much better reason to walk through a new prospect’s door. “We’re asking local owners for one gift idea to share with our listeners” is a conversation even a busy shopkeeper can make time for.
Make the Monday call
On Monday, call a few of those owners back. Ask what sold, whether anybody mentioned hearing them on the radio, and what customers kept asking for. If the bait shop owner tells you three grandparents came in looking for that first tackle box, you’ll want to know that. So will the person at your station who’s going to sit across from him in January and talk about advertising.
Local radio asks small business owners to invest in us throughout the year. Small Business Saturday gives us a good occasion to return the favor. If your station has an old information page like ours did, pull it up and read it from the perspective of someone with an hour to shop and three gifts left to buy. Where would you send them first, and what should they ask for when they get there? Put that answer on the page, then put the person who gave it to you on the air.
Pic generated by ChatGPT.
Jim Sherwood is a radio veteran turned digital strategist dedicated to helping radio stations thrive online through engaging websites and mobile apps. As the founder of Skyrocket Radio and host of the Better Radio Websites podcast, he shares best practices to help stations grow audiences and revenue in the digital space. With decades of experience in radio and a passion for connecting content with listeners, Jim ensures that every station—no matter its size—can make a lasting impact online.