There are many reasons to question whether Thanksgiving is truly the beginning of the holiday retail season anymore, but that won't stop the coverage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  Now there is Small Business Saturday to add to the mix. Joe Manna, for one, welcomes the new focus on small business. But Manna, community manager at Infusionsoft, warns that small businesses should not try to mimic big retailers during the holiday shopping season.  In an article at Marketing Profs, he shares nine marketing tips designed to help small businesses get "the upper hand":

1. Differentiate your marketing

2. Offer extended support and service

3. Reward your most rewarding customers

4. Lay the bait and offer it to who responds

5. Double-down on pay-per-click (PPC) ads

6. Follow up!

7. Hunt down bargains for your contacts

8. Be active in social media

9. Provide premium digital goods to complement your product and service

Read Manna's descriptions for these marketing tips here.