How SMBs Can Boost Black Friday Foot Traffic

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The holiday season has arrived, and while many small businesses are shifting to focus on pulling in shoppers on Small Business Saturday, Black Friday is still the main event and offers many opportunities to make sales. Small businesses should take advantage of mobile tools to drive Black Friday traffic as consumers begin to conduct more searches from smartphones than from PCs. 
Local searches via apps and other mobile platforms make up close to 40 percent of smartphone searches. Depending on customer foot traffic on Black Friday, using a location-based marketing strategy for the holidays can be important and effective as potential customers look for products and services close by.
While Foursquare is one of the most well-known location-based services (LBS) small businesses can utilize, there are a number of other resources that offer similar benefits and marketing opportunities. LBS apps, such as Yelp, can help drive traffic to stores through reviews and recommendations from customers. SCVNGR, helps businesses catch consumers’ interest by turning shopping into a game. Customers complete challenges in order to earn points that are redeemable for rewards and other in-store savings. 
With the ability to offer mobile rewards, social networking, coupons and other enticements, these services can enhance existing customer loyalty programs while also introducing the business to nearby shoppers.
To optimize their presence in mobile search engines, small businesses also need to know what it is consumers are seeking. Using the Google Adwords Keyword Tool, business owners can determine how many searches look for the business’s name, services or other related terms, narrowing down the most effective keywords. Websites can then appear more prominently in mobile search results when these keywords are added to webpage titles, descriptions, headings and more. 
No matter the product or service being offered, any small business with a physical store should incorporate geolocation and local search tactics into their Black Friday marketing plans. That person walking outside your shop window could become a longtime customer.  

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