About This Column
This monthly column on Online Business Canada is intended to inspire action. You know digital transformation is critical to growing your business, but there are so many moving parts and so much to learn! It’s easier to navigate if someone points you in the right direction so you can take the first steps. You don’t have to master anything right now, you only need to move forward and learn as you go.
If one growth tip doesn’t work for your business, pick another one and try that. If you do that over the course of a year, you may be surprised at how much your business has grown and how clear your path is to further growth. A custom strategy will naturally emerge from your efforts, all from trying something new every month.
Content for this column will vary from month to month. We’ll cover what’s trending, motivation, tools, diversification, funding, actionable Canadian data, expert quotes, and how & where to grow your business online over the following month. New posts will be announced in our newsletter, so sign up to ensure you don’t miss a single month of growth.
Grow Your Canadian Small Business Online in September
In September, the marketing & retail world are firmly focused on the lucrative fourth quarter. Decisions have been made regarding featured products, ad testing has begun, campaign scheduling has started, and budgets have been allocated.
The most effective campaigns include long-term strategies with the seasonal short-term tactics. For example, your goal is to take full advantage of the Q4 boost in traffic for conversions, while also obtaining contact information and bringing consumers into your ongoing sales funnels. This ensures continued growth throughout the year.
The following bite-size tips reveal fast ways to grow your Canadian small business online this month.
[DISCLOSURE: We may receive compensation for links to products on this website.]
TIP 1: Grow With Social Media Data
When the numbers really count, I gather information and base my decisions on consensus or averages. In addition to internal data, we pull data from a number of sources to help guide our campaigns in the initial stages. That data is what we share in our 2025 Report: Social Media Use in Canada (Statistics). A more detailed report is available to Online Business Canada newsletter subscribers.
Salesforce reports the top social media networks worldwide are:
Facebook – 3.07 billion users
WhatsApp – 2.78 billion users
YouTube – 2.5 billion users
Instagram – 2 billion users
TikTok – 1.6 billion users
WeChat – 1.3 billion users
Telegram – 1 billion users
Messenger – 1 billion users
Snapchat – 900 million users
Douyin – 766 million users
The top social media networks in Canada for 2025 are:
82% of Canadians use Facebook
YouTube 73%
Instagram 63%
LinkedIn 49%
Pinterest 39%
X 37%
TikTok 35%
Snapchat 30%
Reddit 27%
Source: 2025 State of Social Media in Canada, Social Media Lab, Toronto Metropolitan University
Actively seek out as much information as possible about your ideal customers’ social media habits. Once you know where they are at various stages of the sales funnel, you can refine your engagement strategy.
The same data-supported tactics can be used to refine other types of digital marketing. For example, the 2025 BFCM & Holiday Marketing Blueprint shows you how to increase revenue with data-driven, personalized holiday marketing campaigns.
Speaking of social media, the major networks are releasing their holiday guides this time of year, such as Pinterest’s 2025 Holiday Marketing Guide. The ad networks and marketplaces are getting into the holiday spirit as well, including Amazon’s Holiday Advertising Guide: Unlock the key to seasonal success.
TIP 2: Profit From Unprofitable Customers
There’s always a firm focus on gaining and retaining new customers, but not every customer is profitable. That doesn’t mean you have to drop them, however. In fact, the first thing you should do is try to make them profitable. That starts with a profitability analysis.
“A customer profitability analysis shows how much time you can put into each customer and how much you can discount,” Ajay Sirsi, Director of the Centre for Customer Centricity, Schulich School of Business told BDC. “This all plays into their expectations. If customers have high-needs expectations, but you have a low-needs capacity, that’s a problem.”
- Calculate the true price your customer pays
- Calculate the true cost to serve each customer
- Calculate customer profitability
- Identify your A, B and C customers
- Negotiate and educate your B and C customers
“Ultimately, this is an exercise to increase the number of profitable customers. You can eventually turn your Bs and Cs into As by examining your profitability spreadsheet, establishing cut-offs, and negotiating with customers.
BDC shows you how in A 5-step Customer Profitability Analysis: Find unprofitable customers and make them profitable.
TIP 3: Grow With Ecommerce
Sometimes it feels like I’ve been dragging small Canadian retailers, kicking and screaming, into the online world. It can be frustrating and more than a little baffling, because I know how much Canadian businesses and entrepreneurs have to offer the world.
Finally, that’s begun to change. Booted into action by circumstance, from a pandemic to tariffs, Canadian small businesses are enabling ecommerce and turning it into a multi-channel source of revenue.
“E-commerce isn’t replacing retail. It’s redefining it,’ says retail strategist, Liam Foster. ‘Stores are now acting as experience hubs while online platforms provide convenience and accessibility. Businesses that integrate both are best positioned for the future.’ This shift has been accelerated by the pandemic, which forced temporary closures of physical stores nationwide. Retailers without an established online presence were severely impacted, while those with digital capabilities were able to maintain operations and in some cases expand their customer base.” ~ From Bricks to Clicks: Ecommerce becomes critical in Canada’s retail landscape.
Ecommerce platforms like Shopify facilitate growth strategies beyond sales, such as digital marketing, customer relationship management tools, and fulfillment options to help you reach, engage and serve many more consumers. As we’ve learned from the pandemic, online options should also be a critical part of your contingency plan.
If you’re a small business retailer who hasn’t added ecommerce functionality to your website yet, it’s well past time you did. Once you have online sales functionality, merge it with your offline store to maximize sales. Most of the fulfillment process can be automated and taken care of by a third-party logistics company if processing orders overwhelms you. It can be the difference between a thriving business and one that’s always at death’s door.
The following posts will help guide you through your digital transformation:
Checklist: How to Start an Online Store (Ecommerce Business) in Canada
Canadian Guide to the Best eCommerce Platform Software
TIP 4: Grow Revenue With Related Sponsors
If you’re using affiliate marketing or other types of website sponsorship to supplement revenue, themes related to products you sell can do very well.
For example:
• If you sell survival gear, you can publish content on related topics featuring affiliate partners or other sponsors. In this example, you could promote items for a pet emergency kit featuring pet products from sponsors.
• If you sell winter sports equipment, you can promote adventure travel affiliate partners on your website and in your newsletter.
• If you’re selling a home maintenance course, you could promote products to help reduce the cost of heating your home.
The same tactics apply to any kind of website sponsorship or influencer marketing. Try writing around the sponsor specifically to inspire fresh content ideas, tying it into your niche as you go.
Start with these Top Affiliate Program Categories for Amazing Autumn Sales.
TIP 5: September Content
Grow your traffic, grow your business! Timely content can differentiate your business while generating traffic that converts.
Note: We post a list of holidays & observances (monthly, weekly and daily) for marketers in the Online Business Canada Facebook group. There’s a lot of them! You’re bound to find some that are a perfect fit for you business.
Here are just a few September holidays & observances:
Coupon Month
Pain Awareness Month
Happy Cat Month
Literacy Month
Healthy Aging Month / Senior Care Health Month
Home Furnishings Month
Self-Improvement Month
Sewing Month
September content themes and slants can include Autumn, back-to-school/dorm, school extracurricular activities, garden harvesting & food preservation, leaves, apples, pumpkins, and Autumn colours. September holidays in Canada include Labour Day on September 1st and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (Orange Shirt Day) on September 30th. The official first day of Autumn is September 22nd.
TIP 6: Business Books Worth Reading
Here we share quick quotes from business books we’re reading to help your knowledge grow with your business.
“As humans, we have at our disposal a tool that can effectively and efficiently rebuild lost trust and create a meaningful connection between your business, your brand and your audience.
Storytelling.”
~ Don’t Sell Me, Tell Me: How to use storytelling to connect with the hearts and wallets of a hungry audience, by Greg Koorhan
Incremental Change
Changes spread out over the year will combine into powerful results. When growth based on technology overwhelms us, we can make small changes to continue growing and develop further as we feel our way through it.
How will you grow your online business in September? Please share your ideas or questions in the comments below, or join us in the Online Business Canada Facebook group.
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Last Updated on September 30, 2025 by Melody McKinnon, Online Business & Marketing Manager
Melody McKinnon is an internet entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in a wide range of online business models, backed by a formal business/marketing education and enhanced by training and mentorship. She has owned or managed both educational and ecommerce websites. Her book, 7 Recession Proof Online Businesses to Start From Home, is available from all major ebook retailers.
Melody has worked with many businesses in a multitude of capacities. She can often be found on CanadianDigitalMedia.com, CanadiansInternet.com, CanadianFamily.net, and AllNaturalPetCare.com, as well as other quality digital publications. Her content has earned reference links from highly-respected websites, magazines and university textbooks.
Q4 baby! I hope it’s going to be a money one! Thanks for the marketing (etc.) tips and lots of CANADIAN sales to all!