The holidays are quickly approaching and that means U.S. consumers will be searching for the best deals on gifts for family members, friends and even themselves! Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become major events for millions of Americans. Wal-Mart, Target, Costco, Home Depot and other major retailers pull out all the stops to entice shoppers to their stores and websites.

To help smaller businesses get a piece of the holiday sales pie, American Express® established Small Business Saturday (SBS) in 2010 as a way for locally owned stores to cash in on the Christmas rush. SBS encourages people to “Shop Small” to help communities thrive and stay vibrant. This year's event will be held on November 27th.

Here are 3 great reasons your Laundromat should participate in Small Business Saturday:

1) Ride on the Coattails — Now in its 12th year, consumers know what SBS is about and they actively want to support local business owners in their neighborhood. Capitalize on the excitement and marketing efforts of other small businesses by offering a special laundromat deal to attract new customers to try your store and reward existing loyal customers.

2) Build Your Brand — Most laundromats in the U.S. are still family owned and operated, not nameless, faceless, multinational corporations. Use SBS as a way to inform customers that you are a true small business with a vested interest in the success of your local community.

3) Gain New Customers — The approaching holiday season is the perfect time to appeal to "non-traditional" laundromat users. Offer special WDF rates on comforters / bedspreads, do a half price discount on washers or program free dry to keep your machines spinning all day long. You can even promote laundromat gift cards and gift certificates as the perfect solution for those "hard to buy for people" on Santa's list. The ideas are endless!

Maximize your Small Business Saturday promotion with free social media assets and printable signs offered by American Express or work with Laundromarketing.com to create custom posters, banners, sidewalk signs, bollard covers, window graphics and more. Contact us today to get started.