Image credit: Elvert Barnes[1]
“Conscious spending with the community can contribute to neighborhood sustainability.” — Christine Araquel, The Park’s Finest[2]
I encountered this quote from a restauranteur on the American Express Small Business Saturday website[3], and just these few words called a vivid image to my mind: local business owners and customers gazing together toward the horizon, hoping to pierce the clouds of COVID-19 and see them clearing away, revealing communities that are still standing, and still capable of sustaining our hometowns, our cities, and our dreams.
72% of consumers believe they will frequent neighboring businesses more[4] after the crisis is over, but that will take all of us doing our part now to ensure as many SMBs are still there to greet us when better days return.
In Q4 of 2019, I used my column[5] to encourage local business owners to start having meaningful conversations with customers about how “conscious spending” at independently-owned enterprises impacts local quality of life[6]. Buying local affects everything from mental and physical health, to emergency services access, diversity, democracy, and climate change.
In 2020, it’s time to turn up the local SEO industry’s dial on conscious spending. Today, I’m urging every business owner and marketer to consider dedicating space to a concerted educational campaign on the topic on their websites, social profiles, local business listings, reviews, and real-world interfaces. Your work, and mine, depends on sustaining independently-owned local businesses through and far beyond Small Business Saturday. With the right strategy, we can make an impactful effort together.
What is Small Business Saturday?
American Express created Small Business Saturday in 2010 in response to the Great Recession. This annual event invites communities to shop at small, local businesses