Chris Bailey will not be expecting hordes of customers to come through the doors of his music shop when Small Business Saturday comes around.

“I wouldn’t say anyone has come in directly from the campaign,” said the owner of Right Track Music, who runs the firm on Henwood Industrial Estate in Ashford with wife Su.

This is despite his business being named on the national Small Business Saturday Top 100 list, winning some national media coverage. Last year’s businesses went to a reception at Downing Street but he has had no word if that will be the case this year.

Mr Bailey employs four people at the firm, which he has run for nine years. It is the base for classes run by 200 self-employed music teachers, as well as offering rehearsal rooms.

Yet despite his reservations about the direct impact of Small Business Saturday – launched amid much fanfare three years ago with support of various MPs – he is happy to support the event.

“This campaign gives thousands of local businesses free PR in the run-up to Christmas, gets them new customers and celebrates the diversity, choice and innovation of independent firms...” - Alison Parmar, FSB

“It’s always useful to have small businesses promoted and try to stop people going online or to the supermarket,” he said.

“People may see us in the paper and then in two or three months when they need something hopefully we spring to mind.”

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has pulled out all the stops for this year’s campaign and will be taking Kent MPs Kelly Tolhurst and Greg Clark on tours of independent firms in their constituencies.

Alison Parmar, FSB development manager said: “Small Business Saturday is a great opportunity to put a spotlight on local businesses. Larger companies have teams of PR agents and enormous budgets for advertising.

“This campaign gives thousands of local businesses free PR in the run-up to Christmas, gets them new customers and celebrates the diversity, choice and innovation of independent firms.”

Campaign organisers say more than 16 million people supported the scheme last year, with the campaign the top trending topic on Twitter and receiving around 3.5 million views on Facebook.

Zoe Cairns, the FSB regional policy lead and a social media expert from Chatham-based ZC Social Media, said: “When else do we go and celebrate businesses in the high street and show they are there?

“It’s all about raising awareness. Going around Rochester High Street there are some independent shops with a really good presence and a uniqueness about them. Staff build a relationship with customers and they attract business.”

Yet for some the focus is too much on independent stores. Norman Lewis, director and founder of gin maker Anno Distillers in Marden, said manufacturers and the food and drink industry needed recognition in the campaign. He admitted to never having heard of it before and said it was hard for small businesses to get involved when they are running most aspects of their company.

“We get more PR from a well-placed advertorial than a campaign like this,” he said.

n Small Business Saturday takes place on Saturday, December 5. Tweet using hashtag #SmallBizSatUK or #ibacksmallbusiness