We recently connected with Amy Day and have shared our conversation below.

Amy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

One of the most common things we see other agencies doing that we do not is encouraging clients to keep websites on agency servers or accounts. In so doing, the client often unknowingly is signing away their ability to easy control their most important business asset – their website. The agency now holds all the cards when it should be the other way around.

Business owners most often fall into these situations because they simply don’t know what they don’t know, and trust agencies are doing the right thing by them. But we teach our clients that control is not only necessary, but critical. A business owner must have the domain in an account he or she has admin access to at all times. Same with the hosting account. Then, once a trusted marketing partner is identified, the necessary credentials can be created for that partner so they can effectively do their work, all the while preserving control for the company.

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 back background and context?

I have always been in marketing and I absolutely love it. I have a BBA in marketing communications and a MBA in strategic leadership and marketing communications.

I was working for a Fortune 500 real estate company when the market collapsed in 2007. They were forced to downsize and I was impacted. But I was about 3 months from getting married, which made me decide to push my job search back. When I returned from my honeymoon, I had a contracting offer from that real estate company.

My dad said “Be smart. Protect your assets.” So a friend and I got together over a bottle of wine and named the LLC designed to protect me in that contract…Cowtown Creative. What started as a way to safeguard us while I worked as a contractor has turned into my life’s work. And that simple name on an LLC application has turned into a brand that is now empowering women and growing community.

We’ve evolved significantly since then. With a small but mighty team, we help small to mid size businesses with everything from strategy and branding/rebranding, to website development, social media management, event management, and more.

We are lifelong learners who know status quo is never acceptable. Things change too fast and that’s especially true in the world of marketing. Algorithms and trends change daily and our clients can trust that we’re doing what we can to stay ahead of both.

I personally have a passion for women owned businesses. As one, I know how hard it can be, especially without the right tools. So it’s always a priority to help where/when we can. Most recently, we’ve started an annual contest that awards a deserving women-owned business with $5,000 in marketing services. This includes a 5-page website, SEO rich content, social media posts for a month and a strategic consultation. The winner in 2022 was Waste Not Farms in Troy, Texas.

It was rewarding to the winning business owner, but I argue it may have been even more rewarding for our team. We’re so excited to start the search soon for our 2023 winner.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Like so many others, our hardest time was 2020. No one wanted to invest in marketing because they weren’t sure their business would survive. But research shows that businesses that maintain or increase advertising during tough times, especially during recessions, average higher sales during the period and for about three years after.

We’d been preaching this to our clients for years. But in 2020, it came time to heed our own advice. We were blessed with EIDL funds and used those to keep our team working so we could double down on our focus on our own brand building and marketing. We initiated a rebranding campaign, new website, SEO focus, lots of content, a heightened focus on social media, and even Google ads.

We have absolutely reaped the benefits of that decision. We came out a stronger company and a better team for the experience.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

This is two-prong.

First, it’s all about who you know. Networking is the number one sales tool when done right. Join the chamber, association or local group. Mix and mingle and get your name out there. There is so much to be said for taking the time to build relationships with like-minded business people. Even if they’re not buying your product or service, they’re going to be more likely to refer you to someone they know.

And that brings me to the second point, which is referrals. According to a report by Heinz/Influitive, 84% percent of B2B decision-makers start the buying process with a referral. So having a referral strategy is imperative for every business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cowtowncreative.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cowtowncreative/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CowtownCreative
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cowtown-creative