Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kristen Day. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kristen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

 

Thanks so much for having me! When I think about an example that helps people understand how my company deviates from the digital service industry standard, I think about all the people that I’ve worked with who come to me because they feel completely stuck, fed up, or they’ve spent a lot of money in the past, only to end up with things, platforms, software, or a program they don’t know how or simply can’t use.

I build fully integrated done-for-you digital spaces, but then offer to teach you or your team how to manage your online assets from within your own company. This would ultimately mean that my clients eventually no longer need me, or my company.

This is very unusual to see inside the digital service industry. Typically, when a customer hires someone for help with their business’s digital space, they are asked to sign retainers, or the items that the company is working on, such as a social media ad campaign, website, ect. is owned by the digital service provider, not the company. This often keeps customers from being able to have full control over their digital assets. Because the normal business owner is not well versed in the industry language or how these assets work, they must rely on the digital service provider, or essentially start from scratch should they want to move providers.

It is my ultimate goal to change this. I work with business owners to curate a digital ecosystem that is user friendly, streamlined, and that they themselves, or someone on their team can use, even if they have no prior experience with online tools. I also help them understand what questions they can ask to avoid working with a company who is more focused on sales retention than providing quality service.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

 

My name is Kristen Day, and I’m a digital marketing and business strategist who works with “non-techy,” business owners who are disheartened, confused, irritated by trying to figure out how to create a converting online presence. I’ve helped entrepreneurs in over 20 industries eliminate their frustration and overwhelm. There were a few pivotal moments that led me to where I am today.

I exited the corporate world and opened my company with the intention of bringing a kinder, more compassionate, and giving mentality to how digital marketing services are provided to our community. I discovered a need for this important change during my time as an employee at an ad agency. On the corporate side of digital marketing I saw major gaps in the online service industry with regards to providing business owners a holistic, effective, and profitable digital process they can actually understand AND use.

My degree was not formally in these areas, so I have first-hand experience of how people with no formal training have to learn these skills – through trial, error, and a lot of frustration. I do love to learn and have fallen in love with the online space, but for those who are not interested or are easily overwhelmed by these projects, it can be truly discouraging for them to want to use these tools.

I believe it’s important to empower our community’s business owners to leverage their online space in a way that helps them thrive. This means building easy to use, simple to understand platforms and educating them about tools that can make their interaction with the digital world approachable. When we help our community use the online space correctly, we help them connect and serve more people, while supporting their livelihood.

My services include:

• Custom done-for-you websites
• Sustainable omnipresent social media strategy
• Email marketing strategy
• SEO Services
• Integrated and streamlined online processes

I’m proud that my brand is unapologetically not afraid to give the power to the business owner and their team, should they want to have it. We should not shy away from empowering others to succeed, and we should call out those that feel the need to keep it to themselves. Ultimately, I want the industry to embrace this concept. By educating those who are using these services, we help them feel confident and capable of making better decisions for themselves and their business. I feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity and the privilege to bring this conversation about the online space to the table.

More than anything I want readers to know that there is a version of their business online that is not overwhelming, not scary, and not overly frustrating. There is a world where that piece of their business is manageable, profitable, understandable, and maybe… maybe even fun.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Connecting with other business owners, regardless of if they hire me, has been the largest part of how I was able to raise awareness about my business and grow my clientele. I’m a member of 3 coaching programs, and I also just love to meet people. I’m always looking for ways to connect other people to someone or something they are looking for, and I refer a lot of business to people that I interact with. I don’t do any social media or Google ads. Also, trying to help people in ways that has nothing to do with my own business often leads to naturally discussing what I do. Taking the opportunity to be helpful anytime it arises, whether it benefits me or not, helps spread awareness for what I do professionally.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

When I work with my clients, almost 100% of the time we will become friends. When I wrap up a project with a client, I’m almost always keeping up with what’s going on inside of their business or referring people that I meet afterward towards them. I also love to promote my past clients’ new projects. I think that by supporting your past clients, taking a genuine interest in what they are doing, how they are growing, and supporting them in a way that shares their genius with the world, brand loyalty is just the cherry on top that comes from staying connected.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://affinitybyday.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehomegrind/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehomegrind
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristendayaffinity/

Image Credits
Alexa Rae Davidson