Season 3 Bonus Episode
Erin Sweatman of American Express

The history — and heart — of Small Business Saturday

Chris Allen: Well, Erin, this year marks the 15th Small Business Saturday, and I’d really like to know how this initiative really began, and what was the spark that inspired American Express to launch this back in 2010?

Erin Sweatman: Absolutely. So American Express has a long history of backing small businesses, and when we thought about Small Business Saturday, it really came on the heels of the financial crisis.

Erin: So in 2010, we heard from our small business customers that they needed support. They needed customers coming in their doors, they needed their cash registers ringing, particularly in the holiday season, right? It’s so critical, so make-or-break for small businesses. And so our team sort of looked at the landscape and said, “All right, there isn’t a moment that’s dedicated to small businesses, and how can we find that way in,” right?

Erin: And so Small Business Saturday was born. It is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It’s a great way to sort of work off your turkey, and it’s really meant to be a day of celebration for small businesses. So it’s a way to celebrate our small business owners, it’s a way to activate and get shoppers out to support them, and it’s a way to really celebrate our communities and think about how we can come together, and really think about what that feels like, right?

$17 billion in spend and sales for small businesses in 2023

Erin: And as we now look back after 15, we’re about to hit the 15th Small Business Saturday this November 30th, so put it on your calendar, I’ll say that date a few times, the brief was ‘ and ’ And last year, in 2023, we saw that there was $17 billion worth of spend or sales at small businesses on Small Business Saturday.

Chris: That’s amazing.

Erin: So as we think about the job and what we were trying to do, we feel really good about the way that we’ve been able to start this and support and put a spotlight on small businesses with Small Business Saturday, and today, the broader Shop Small movement.

Chris: Yeah. And it is a movement. And it’s one that I think just reflecting back as to why we decided to do The Entrepreneur Studio, we were like, “Man, this crew definitely gets it,” in the way that we are trying to be a better member of the small business community, and that’s why The Entrepreneur Studio exists.

How American Express chose to honor small businesses

Chris: I think we have our reasons as to why we sort of picked small businesses, but what really was sort of the impetus to say, “It’s small businesses that we’re going to support?” Because there’s a whole host of other consumer-type things that AmEx could have chosen, but small businesses [were] one of the big ones. So what really made the small business community become the target of what we’re going to help?

Erin: Yeah. I think small businesses are at the core, and I think what Shop Small has done and what Shop Small does for us is it’s a way to really connect across, right? So if we think about the way Shop Small has come into being and the way we use Small Business Saturday, it’s not just a message for our small businesses, right? Our small business customers certainly appreciate that message and they appreciate that backing, but our card members also engage, and so it’s a big thing that we talk to our customers about as well.

Erin: So I think as a marketer, you think about those moments, how you can connect with multiple places, right? And Shop Small is one of those things that it’s a big idea that has space to connect to customers, to connect to small business owners, and it feels true. It feels good. It really has tapped into that central idea.

Erin: And again, we do have a long history of backing small businesses. I think this is sort of a big thing for us. They are a core part of our customer base. We often think about our card business, and that’s incredibly important, but small businesses are a critical part of our customer base as well, so it’s one that we really wanted to shine a spotlight on.

Chris: Yeah, absolutely. Well, I think one of the things that is really beautiful about the Shop Small movement and just the Small Business Saturday - sort of piece of that - is the fact that there’s marketing, right? We’ve got some marketers talking to each other.

Being a trusted partner and providing value to small businesses

Chris: What I always like to think of is that if you’re going to have something, you may not have thought it was going to be as big as it became, but when you’ve got something like that and you’ve got an idea, you’ve got these awareness and maybe perception outcomes, which are outcomes usually to address a roadblock, something in the way of the business, something that needs to change about the way people perceive the business. So what were some of the things you wanted people to know about AmEx, and what were the things you wanted people to think or feel differently?

Erin: Yeah. So I think with Small Business Saturday and Shop Small, I think the first thing is it wasn’t about AmEx as much as it was about supporting our small businesses. So I think the first thing that we wanted to be able to do was say, “We do have a voice as a large company, and we have the ability to get the word out there. So how can we use that voice to support our small businesses?” I’m going to be high maintenance again. Can you repeat your question? Can we—

Chris: I can ask it again.

Erin: Think about, yeah. Give me—

Chris: So I’m just trying to figure out, if you’re building a marketing plan, you’ve got awareness and perception [and] outcomes that you’re looking to have happen. So what was the problem or the collection of problems that this solution should deliver? What people would know, that you would want them to know, or think and feel?

Chris: So I’m just trying to figure out how you sort of design the marketing plan around solving for getting these outcomes that we want out of campaigns like this?

Erin: Yeah, okay. So as we think about Shop Small and Small Business Saturday, I think  — as we think about how we come together for it — for small businesses, what we want them to know and feel is that American Express has their back. That’s critical. They are in fact a part of our family at American Express, so that’s a core part of the equation.

Erin: And then I think we also really think about how can we then activate our card members against it? I’m going to get into a groove here, guys. I promise.

Chris: You’re good. It’s totally fine.

Erin: As we think about small businesses, we know that they have significant challenges in their day-to-day, right? There is so much that they are trying to do.

Chris: 100%.

Erin: There are so many hats that they are wearing, so we talk to them on a regular basis. But what I think Shop Small does is let us find one consistent message and theme, and really consistently remind ourselves as a business to anchor on who they are, what do they need, and how can we deliver upon that?

Erin: And in doing so, our hope is that we show up as a trusted partner and a trusted part of their day. That’s what we would like to do. If we’re doing it right, we’re able to really show our value to small businesses.

Erin: And what we bring to the table for small businesses is both sort-of broad awareness that we do across our channels during the small business season, in addition to a whole host of tools and offers and content that we deliver to make sure that they have the right assets. And so I feel like I’m not answering your question effectively.

Chris: Well, how about I ask it like this? There’s something that I, as a consumer, for an extended period of time I’ve been a consumer, I used to go to these businesses, let’s say, 10-15 years ago, and it would be I’d pull out my AmEx, and they’d be like, “Hey, I’m sorry. We don’t take American Express.”Chris: You don’t really see that anymore. And I’m trying to figure out if this sort of Shop Small movement was a piece of sort of rebuilding the infrastructure of how people thought about American Express?

Erin: Yeah. I think that’s true, right? So today, I think we have seen a significant growth in the number of small businesses that accept American Express. So in fact, 99% of places in the United States, or small businesses, or businesses broadly accept American Express.

AmEx is for — and with — small businesses

Erin: And a big part of that has been the way that we work to make sure that we show up, right? We show up every day, and Small Business Saturday and Shop Small is one of those things that we do to make sure small businesses understand that we’re there, and we have their back, and that we are really working to support the small business community. So it’s an important galvanizing function and message in the way that we show up and make sure that small businesses feel like AmEx is in fact for them and with them.

Chris: It’s one of those things that I think it’s brilliant in the sense that it’s one of those, I put it up there with the Just-Do-Its of the world, where it was something that was a campaign that has just continued to go and go and go and go.

Chris: And it has done this sort of amount of reinforcement that acceptance of American Express has really, really, really, really grown. Obviously, it’s not one thing, but because it became a movement, it chipped away at something. And so just as a marketer, it’s something that I just personally admire, right? Somebody that can take a very particular point of view and shift that over time.

Erin: That’s right.

Surveys show Small Business Saturday encourages sales throughout the year

Chris: And it’s really brilliant marketing. And the thing that I feel like it would be sort of a miss for us if we didn’t talk about it, is all the evidence of that, right? What are some of the proof - that the things you sought out to do with Small Business Saturday and with the Shop Small movement, what are some of the things that you’ve seen as evidence of, “Hey, this is working for small businesses”?

Erin: Yeah, yeah. So we have a lot of data that says we’re on the right track, right? So I mentioned that $17 billion number. But in addition, I think what’s really encouraging is that we started out to say, okay, how do we make sure that customers are coming in on Small Business Saturday? But over the years, we really have started to think about this as something that’s an everyday component of the way we show up for small businesses and for communities.

Erin: And so what’s really powerful is that over the past few years, we’ve done a number of surveys after Small Business Saturday, and asked customers, “How does this make you feel? How does this change your behavior?” And if we think about that, so in 2022, I’m going to read just to make sure I get the numbers right.

Erin: So in 2022, we asked customers, how do you feel about Small Business Saturday? And 72% of shoppers said Small Business Saturday makes them want to shop and dine small all year long. Last year, we asked a slightly different question, and 61% of small business shoppers agreed that they’d found a small business or a restaurant on Small Business Saturday where they are likely to return or become a regular customer.

Erin: So I think it’s the power of putting a name to something, right? So when we started Small Business Saturday, we started Shop Small, I think we can all agree there’s a feeling you get when you shop small. You can think about the small business that you love. You can think about what it makes you feel like. So I’d say, stop and think, right? Think about how you feel when you go into your favorite small business. I won’t make you name them. I know that [there] are many. I’ve seen many of them on this podcast.

Erin: But if I think in my own life about the diner down the street where we go, and they know my kids’ names, and they welcome them with the chocolatiest chocolate milk that you can possibly imagine, or the toy store down the street that has every birthday gift. And for me as a mom, the amazing thing is that they wrap the gifts, right? I mean, it’s all done for you.

Erin: And so I think there’s a feeling around shopping small. You feel like you’re a part of something, you connect. And what the data tells us is that what we’ve seen is that it’s true, right? And we do see that as we put a name to it, and as we think about it, and we are able to be a little bit more intentional about the way we shop, it does help customers to think about maybe I want to change my behavior, and I do want to keep doing this, right? This is important to me.

Erin: So we’re really proud of that, and it’s exciting to see and something that we are continuing to think about. How do we keep making sure that that momentum moves forward as we grow?

Chris: That’s so good.

How AmEx prepares for Small Business Saturday

Chris: So how do you sort get ready for Small Business Saturday at AmEx?

Erin: Yes, I love this question. So I think as we think about getting ready, there’s sort of three things, and it’s really all about how we can support the small businesses so they can make the most of the day. That’s really at our core.

Erin: So first, there’s a number of things that we have ready for small businesses to do and get ready and take advantage. I’m going to throw out a website. It’s AmericanExpress.com/ShopSmall. It is the home for all things Shop Small.

Erin: So the first bucket of things are two sort-of core pieces that are all about making sure you’re ready on the day, let[ting] customers know. So we have some great social posts that are ready to use, super easy for a small business to download posts and let their customers know “I’m a place where you can Shop Small. Please support me.”Erin: We also have — this is a perennial favorite fun fact. This was my first job at American Express, [I] was making all this great signage. Oh, it’s stuck to the table. But we have lots of great signage that small businesses can come and grab [to] make sure that everybody knows that you are a small business and a place to show up. So those are two things you can go grab. Easy, done. Right?

Erin: We also have a ton of great content on the site that merchants can use or small businesses can use, both to help get ready for Small Business Saturday, but all year long to really help as they think about what’s next for their business. So we have great, actionable content. Think about things to make sure that you’re getting involved in your community and maximizing community engagement to grow your business, or making sure you really know where you’re going next. How do you craft your purpose and think about what am I doing here, and what do I want to be, and how do I want to show up?

Erin: And then we pair a lot of that content with valuable offers. So for example, we have some great content around hiring. We know that is a perennial challenge for everyone, but frankly, particularly for small businesses. So there’s great content on that, and we marry that with offers to actually be able to go act on that insight, right?

Chris: Wow.

Erin: So we have a great offer from Indeed, or we have ones from FedEx to help get stuff out the door, or lots of other great opportunities there as well. And then lastly, on the site, you’ll find there’s lots of stuff. The last thing I’ll talk about today, because I could talk about this for quite some time, it’s what my team spends a lot of their time thinking about and making sure we have ready.

Visit AmericanExpress.com/ShopSmall to read stories from small business entrepreneurs like you

Erin: The last thing I’ll hit on is that we’re also launching a whole suite of stories from small business owners, for small business owners. So we know how powerful it is to learn from each other and really put a spotlight on those messages, and see how small business owners [can] get excited and inspired from others like them. So that’s sort of what sits on AmericanExpress.com/ShopSmall, and those are all tools for small businesses to go take advantage.

Erin: The other thing, and this is sort of where we as marketers come in, is what can we do to support small businesses, and how can we use our marketing channels to get the word out for small businesses? Because we know they’re busy.

Erin: So there’s really two things that we’re working on right there. So first is making sure that when you turn on your TV, you see a message around Shop Small as we get into the holiday season, that when you’re on your phone scrolling, it’s there. So how do we make sure that we are highlighting Shop Small and getting the word out to shoppers across the country?

Erin: In addition, we use our actual communications to card members to connect card members with small businesses nearby, and that’s our recommendations program. So it’s all about making sure that we put a very specific and recommended small business in front of you that we think that you would really like. And just to put some scale on that, last year, we recommended eight million small businesses to our card members.

Chris: Wow.

Erin: So it’s a really powerful way for us to be able to put our power behind small businesses in a way that a small business doesn’t have to do a thing. It’s free advertising that we take care of, and really making sure that we support small businesses in that way. So our job is to make sure small businesses have everything ready for them to go take advantage of, but also to try to do some of the heavy lifting on our side as well to support and get the word out.

Chris: That’s such good stuff. I think with all of that activity, what’s something that maybe is sort of behind the glass or behind the scenes that nobody knows that you’re really passionate about?

Erin: I think one of the things that I have a lot of excitement about is when we can uncover the thing that’s hard and we can start to put the pieces together for a small business. So let’s think about all things digital and social media, right?

Erin: If we think about when small business started, Small Business Saturday started in 2010, I don’t know that I had a smartphone, right? The world was just so very different. And if we think about how things have evolved over the past few years, the pace of change is just astounding in terms of marketing.

Erin: I’m a marketer, you’re a marketer. I find it hard to keep up with what do we need to be doing? Where do we need to be? And so as a small business owner, that’s really challenging. And I think we hear constantly from small business owners, “I know I need to be something there, but I don’t know what.” And so we’ve gone out and done some work to understand how does social play in? What do we need to do, right?

Don’t underestimate the power of social media, especially for Gen Z

Erin: And so we started by talking to shoppers. And so the stat is that 73% of Gen Z-ers are more likely to make a purchase at a small business when they’ve seen it on their social media feed. 73%. So it—

Chris: Wow.

Erin: ...just really underscores the importance of having that social presence. And so that’s a stat that says, “Okay. I probably should be there, and how do I show up?” And so then, it’s how do we take that information, make sure it’s easy for a small business to understand, but then easy to act on, right?

Erin: So we’ve sort of bundled that insight and that need to be there with, again, a few quick tips on how do you manage your social. It doesn’t need to be all the things, but how do you just find those simple habits and make it a part of your day? We have those assets

where they can download and quickly post. We know that crafting the perfect post feels hard, so how can we help them with those that are ready to go?

Erin: And then we have offers from some great places like Constant Contact or Web.com to make sure that businesses can really quickly get their social up, get their communications out, and be ready to go, right? So it’s sort of finding those pieces that this is an opportunity. How can we demystify it for a small business and make it feel a little bit easier to go tackle that problem when we know that their list of to-dos is a long one?

Building the future of the Shop Small movement on small business needs

Chris: Well, what would you say is next, right? This is number 15. What would you say is next for the Shop Small movement?

Erin: Yeah. Shop Small is something that… its beauty is that it has changed so much over the years, right? So it started as something that was based in the US. It was really for retailers, really for Main Streets. And over the past 15 Small Business Saturdays, it’s evolved. It is now global, we celebrate everywhere from the US to Australia, and we’ve really worked to make the umbrella broader. So now how do we support online businesses? How do we support services? B2B businesses?

Erin: And I think what is at the core of it and what’s made it last for so many years is that the evolution is less about sort of what we want and more about what our small businesses are telling us they need. So as we said, it started with making sure I get someone in my door. In 2020, it really became how do I let my customers know how to even shop with me during that period?

Erin: And as we move forward, I think what we really hear from our small businesses is it kind-of connects to that idea of change happening so quickly. What we really hear is “How do you help me think about what’s next, and how do I really future-proof my business?” So we’re continually making sure that we listen to small businesses and make sure that everything we do is fully linked to what they need.

Erin: And I think then on top of that, it’s really just how do we sort of help [keep] them with really simple, really easy ways to go get them to the next piece and be able to sort of solve where they’re going next?

Chris: Yeah, I love it. Well, Erin, what advice would you have for making the most? Actually, let me ask it this way. If you’re talking to a merchant, what do you think [is] the piece of advice that you’d give them to make the most of the resources and assets that AmEx makes available?

Save the date for Saturday, November 30th to #shopsmall

Erin: Yeah. I think first and foremost, mark your calendar. November 30th. That’s the day. And then I think the next piece is go and just spend a few minutes at AmericanExpress.com/ ShopSmall. I think it’s… order that signage, make sure that it’s up, make sure customers know that they can shop with you.

Erin: And then I think it’s taking advantage of some of those marketing pieces. Download those assets, let your customers know that you’re a place to come and shop small. Let them know how important it is to you, right?

Erin: And then I think it’s also spend a few minutes and get inspired, have fun, get excited. This moment, it’s meant to be a celebration of small businesses. So there [are] all these great story-tellings, so how do you sort of take a minute and pick up one thing about how you can maybe approach your day a little bit differently from another small business owner and find that moment of joy for you?

Chris: I love it. I’ve been a small business owner three times—

Erin: Oh, amazing.

Chris: I mean, I’d say I have a soft spot in my heart for people who do that. And here at The Entrepreneur Studio, we’re super enthusiastic about entrepreneurs and small business. I know I will be shopping—

Erin: Wonderful.

Chris: ...on Small Business Saturday. I will make sure that everybody knows where I shopped. Hopefully, it’s more than one place. But thank you, Erin, so much for coming. It was an awesome conversation to really learn more about the Shop Small movement. And everybody should absolutely go to AmericanExpress.com/ShopSmall. Yes.

Erin: Yes, they should. They should. And I’ll just call out before we go, as we think about customers, I think that’s an important one, right? So we talked about what small businesses should do. We also got to think about what all of us as shoppers [should do].

Erin: So all of us are shoppers, whether we’re a small business owner or not. So for our customers and our shoppers, mark your calendar, November 30th. And I think there’s a few things for us to do and really think about how we can support, right?

Erin: So it’s one, can you find a new place to go and shop? We have a great Shop Small map where you can go. It’s AmericanExpress.com/ShopSmallMap. You can use that to find small businesses near you that you perhaps never tried. Look for the Shop Small logo on different businesses, so that’s one thing, right?

Positive online reviews have a tremendous impact

Erin: And then it’s thinking about how you can really put the spotlight on the small businesses that you already know and love, right? Bring a friend, post about them on your own social, write them a rave review. Those things all really matter.

Erin: And I think the last piece is we all have big to-do lists in the holiday season, so how do you sort-of carve out and be thoughtful about where you want to make sure that a small business shows up as you work through that to-do list? And there’s often some wonderful benefits.

Erin: So I mentioned the wrapping, right? I think our small businesses, it’s a special experience. It’s a special thing you take away, and it often sort of leaves you feeling really wonderful, so I hope that everyone will make sure that they get out and shop small.

Chris: That was a good call-out. I think rave reviews are really big. So I think we should all leave a great review for each of our small businesses. And we do have The Entrepreneur’s Studio. It’d be great to get a review for the Entrepreneur’s Studio, as well.

Erin: Hint, hint.

Chris: Hint, hint. But Erin, thanks so much for coming, and I hope that it’s a huge success for you this year.

Erin: Thank you. We’re really excited, and thanks for having me. It really was a pleasure to be here and an honor to get to talk a little bit about the Shop Small work.

Chris: Absolutely. Thanks for coming.

Disclosures The total reported projected spending of U.S. consumers who shopped at independent retailers and restaurants on Small Business Saturday in 2023 reached an estimated $17 billion. 73% of Gen Z said that they are more likely to shop with a small business when they see them on social media.