 Running a small business is hard work! Small business owners tend to wear many hats: project manager, logistics manager, operations manager, human resources department, and often times, marketing manager. That is a lot to maintain and control! Marketing mistakes and pitfalls often occur due to the fact that so many small business owners aren’t confident in their marketing skills and they are simply just spread too thin. Marketing mistakes won’t necessarily ruin your business, but they do sometimes cost time and money. The My Big Day Marketing & Events team recently pulled together a list of common marketing mistakes that we have noticed clients and potential clients make. Our team has over 127 years of marketing experience - we’ve seen it all! Hopefully this list will help your small business avoid or correct potentially costly mistakes. Outdated Website Your website is your most valuable marketing asset. It is the key to reaching all of those searching potential customers. It is oftentimes the channel that delivers your company’s first impression to potential customers. 97% of consumers search online for products and services. A missing or outdated website can have a detrimental effect on your ability to do good business. Creating and maintaining a website isn’t hard or even expensive. There are a variety of easy-to-use website builders that are affordable - Wix, Weebly, Squarespace - are all user-friendly for even the most tech-fearing person. Neglecting Data If you don’t track the results of marketing campaigns, website traffic, or social media data, you never get a solid idea of what actually works. Not tracking goals, conversions, click-through rates, or engagement is like throwing something “against the wall” and hoping that something sticks - a sometimes costly mistake. There is no way to learn from your mistakes when you neglect to track. There is no way to improve. My Big Day Marketing & Events suggests building a strategy that includes campaigns with goals, milestones, defined messaging, targeted channels, and data collection. We suggest tracking website metrics, including the number of sessions, users, pageviews, top pages, traffic sources (which social media channels or ads bring your website the most visitors), visitor demographics, and conversions. When you collect this data, you’ll be able to track where to spend your time and money for campaign promotions. You’ll also learn a lot about your audience and customer base. My Big Day Marketing & Events tracks these metrics quarterly for all of our clients. This data helps us shape and adjust our marketing messaging.  You don’t have a clear idea of who your audience is Your audience is the people you want to purchase your service or product - those that are buying your solution to their problem. Sometimes the audience we want can blind us to the customers we actually have. No matter how great your messaging, logo, or campaigns are - if you don’t really know your audience, your message will miss the mark. Some small business owners try to avoid this problem by targeting the masses (remember before we mentioned throwing something against the wall in hopes that it will stick???). This is a sure way to drive up marketing costs and see very little on your ROI. My Big Day Marketing & Events helps small businesses study and get to know their customers and target audiences. We help companies segment their customer base, allowing tailored messaging to reach the right people at the right time.  Wasting time on social media by not following the 80/20 rule The 80/20 rule is a standard in social media marketing - 80% of social media posts should provide useful information to your audience (educating, entertaining, and offering solutions), 20% explicitly promote your business. People do not engage on social media to watch advertisements. They scroll through their timelines and feeds to connect with others, to be entertained, to learn, and to be inspired. Your social media strategy should reflect that. Also, when you provide helpful content for your audience, you are establishing yourself and your company as an authority on the matter. It builds trust. My Big Day Marketing & Events will often create posts and blogs that provide links to helpful articles or videos, industry insights, inspirational quotes and images, timely articles, and uplifting stories. These are peppered in with posts that promote our clients’ businesses and events. All of this is created to draw your customers in and engage them around your mission and business. No strategy or plan All of the previously mentioned mistakes could be avoided with one simple solution - having a strategy and plan. Failing to plan usually leads to a high rate of failure. Every client, event, and campaign is unique. My Big Day Marketing & Events works with each client to build a marketing strategy that works for their specific needs and goals. Our typical marketing strategy is built around these 7 steps:
 Failing to see marketing as a business investment Expenses are something you buy and are often cut or curbed during tight economic times. Investments deliver future value. The entire purpose of marketing is to drive leads into future and long-time customers. When you treat marketing as an expense, your ability to find future leads, customers, and company ambassadors is greatly diminished. Marketing should be viewed as a business investment. Marketing will help drive growth and new opportunities when your company needs it the most. My Big Day Marketing & Events helps coach clients to avoid these common mistakes. We work to help small businesses create effective, scalable, and brand-building marketing campaigns that really work. We specialize in marketing, advertising, social media strategy & management, website design & maintenance, and event marketing. We have the time and expertise to help support small business goals and growth. If you would like help with your marketing goals and strategy, reach out for a one-on-one consultation. We will help you avoid these mistakes and find success!  Making Business Personal
As a connected collective of experts, My Big Day specializes in creativity. With superior organization, marketing experience and original ideas, we pull off amazing events and campaigns! My Big Day makes business personal by bringing JOY to the job in everything we do. As purveyors of fun with My Big Day, we support businesses and individuals in the growth of their ideas, events and marketing strategies. Our creative aptitude allows for unique ideas. Our passion for perfection makes every client a priority! Contact MBD Marketing & Events *** Bringing Joy to the Job *** Phone: 970-613-1455 or 303-886-3068 Email Us It’s pretty simple - smart Small Businesses rely on Referral Programs to bring in leads. Referral Programs are effective tools in converting leads and expanding your loyal customer base. What is a Referral Program for Small Business? A referral program is a word-of-mouth marketing strategy that turns your most satisfied customers into brand ambassadors. To simplify - your customers do a lot of your marketing for you! Referral programs let satisfied customers share their brand experience with partners, colleagues, and friends - providing a much larger communication web than your business could do on its own, at a fraction of the cost! The purpose of a referral program is to acquire leads and build credibility. When you ask your customers to consider others who might benefit from your product or service, they will forward leads that are already a good fit for your brand. It means you will spend less time and money on acquiring new customers - these referred clients will come in already with exposure to your business. For many, a Small Business Referral Program produces images of punch-card programs or discount coupons. These are low-budget tools that can produce results, for sure, but even small businesses can expand their reach by collecting and using data and creative communication.  How to Start Your Own Referral Program There are a variety of referral program software systems that you can research and utilize in setting up your own referral program. You can also utilize a variety of templates connected to your current CRM that allow you to create a bank of referral request emails, referral follow-up emails, social content about your business, and tools for creating a positive customer experience. That all sounds like a lot of work, but it is actually quite easy. After setting your referral program goals, start by:
 Referral Program Examples You can reap great benefits from a strong and well thought out referral program. Offering your customers an official way to spread the word about your business and rewarding them for their efforts is the name of the game! There are many creative ways in which you can launch a successful program:
There are many ways to engage with your current customers to build a quality program that will benefit your bottom line. You can increase your visibility, expand your audience base, and grow closer to your current customers, for a fraction of the cost of paid advertising. Something to consider when creating your business and marketing plans!  Small Business. Big Impact. As a connected collective of experts, My Big Day specializes in the creative touches so many marketing campaigns & events these days are lacking. With superior organization, marketing experience and original ideas, we pull off amazing events and campaigns! Allow us to WOW you and your guests! As purveyors of fun with My Big Day, we support businesses and individuals in the growth of their ideas, events and marketing strategies. Our creative aptitude allows for unique ideas. Our passion for perfection makes every client a priority! Contact MBD Marketing & Events Small Business. Big Impact. Phone: 970-613-1455 or 303-886-3068 Email Us We serve the entire Front Range; Denver, Southern Wyoming, the CO Mountains, and Northern Colorado: Loveland, Fort Collins, Greeley, Windsor, Berthoud, Estes Park, Lyons, Longmont, Boulder, Wellington, Johnstown, Evans, Severance, Timnath, Mead, Frederick, Firestone, Milliken  Whether you’re just starting your small business or are well-established, a communications plan is crucial for your business success. Here are four reasons why you need a small business communications plan – and how My Big Day can help.  What is a communications plan? A communications plan or strategy is a system through which businesses communicate news and marketing messaging within the company and externally. Internal communication may occur between colleagues, human resources staff, and company management. Information may be communicated externally to the public, news media, clients, suppliers, and other businesses. The goal of a communications plan is to ensure your business’s messaging remains consistent, no matter who is receiving information and from which representative of your company. Communications plans are designed to be proactive, but are absolutely necessary in a crisis. A communications plan may address not only what message should be broadcast, but through which channels (for example, that certain types of messaging should be communicated through email, over the phone, or via internal memos).  Why do I need a communications plan for my small business? Company Image A standardized, professional method of communication with the public lends your business credibility. Consistent communication builds external trust in your business, and trust is paramount to success. It is important to know which message(s) you want to convey to specific target audiences, which is where marketing comes into play. Conflicting information released by different parties sporadically conveys an image of disorganization, which degrades trust. Having a unified communications strategy that everyone in the company is aware of prevents confused messaging. Crisis Management Some sort of reputation crisis, whether big or small, is inevitable during the life of your small business. It may be one disgruntled client or a newsworthy catastrophe that affects a wide audience’s perception. Either way, having a strategic communication plan in place will reduce uncertainty for you and present your company as a unified front under scrutiny. Community Relations Engaging with and supporting your community is essential to your business’s image. Your company’s public reputation is enhanced by giving back, including support of nonprofits, local initiatives, and other businesses. Staying abreast of industry happenings helps you make better business decisions, and positive relationships with other businesses build trust and mutual respect. Internal Business Objectives and Employee Morale Having everyone in your company on the same page is essential to efficient operations. Everyone in your company should understand their roles and tasks and have the information necessary to carry them out. Missing or inconsistent information frustrates employees and decreases performance. Trust, loyalty, and transparency are cultivated through a consistent internal communications plan between employees and management.  How do I create a small business communications plan? Creating an effective small business communications plan requires knowledge of branding, measurable goals, target markets, media relations, communication channels, campaigns and events, and evaluation of measurable communication analytics. Executing a strategic communications plan is a big job, and most small businesses don’t have a marketing or PR professional in-house. Internal communications plans, particularly for small companies, can be managed by an owner, president, or manager. External communications are best managed by professionals trained in marketing or public relations. At My Big Day, we offer a long list of small business services, including strategic communications planning, in conjunction with:
 Our talented team of women comes from a variety of educational backgrounds with decades of experience in the marketing, communications, and event planning industries. Reach out to find out how we can help you grow your small business! For business marketing and event tips and ideas, follow My Big Day on Facebook and Instagram. Visit our Small Business Marketing Pinterest board for more from your local small business experts!  |
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My Big Day Company LLC 2006-2022 www.MyBigDayCompany.com
970-613-1455 or 303-886-3068 EMAIL US
We serve the entire Front Range; Denver, Southern Wyoming, the CO Mountains, and Northern Colorado: Loveland, Fort Collins, Greeley, Windsor, Berthoud, Estes Park, Lyons, Longmont, Boulder, Wellington, Johnstown, Evans, Severance, Timnath, Mead, Frederick, Firestone, Milliken
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