Delicious Green Bay pools restaurant digital marketing resources
De Pere’s Michael Newby has been in the advertising industry since 2000. During that time, he worked with national and local businesses to help promote their brands. He found that while national companies are adept at digital media and promotion, small businesses often struggle.
“About five years ago, I began to think, ‘What if I didn’t work for a company? I loved it,” says Newby. ”
That vision and romantic interest led him to the Green Bay area, where he began finalizing his business plan.
The first effort began when he was mentored by the Small Business Development Center in Florida. Once in Green Bay, Small connected with his business community and in January founded Broken Egg Digital Marketing, LLC, based out of his hub in downtown Green Bay.
“When choosing a name, I wanted something different, something that would tell a story, something that would generate conversation when networking,” Newby said. Break down barriers, break through outer shells, and carve your own path to success. ”
His tagline became “Let’s Get Cracking” and he launched a business offering a full range of digital marketing services. He said many companies feel overwhelmed in the marketing arena and help develop individual plans. That’s what he sees as his niche in a highly competitive field.
When visiting clients, unlike many of his competitors, he doesn’t try to sell a pre-determined product. Instead, his goal is to listen and learn about the business.
“I don’t pretend to be what their business is, and I have no idea what they’re trying to achieve,” Newby said. they need. We also offer consulting services as education is a big part of it. ”
The process, he says, is like climbing a series of stairs. Aiming to reach the top, climb up one step at a time as your business grows. That analogy also applies to his business plan.
In working with companies, he has seen a wide split in marketing budgets between independent and domestic clients. Larger companies can afford to make a big impact, while smaller companies struggle to build brand awareness, which drives him to the next step in his business plans. It’s about getting small businesses to work together and participate in marketing efforts.
“We also wanted to work with individual companies in all digital areas to develop digital concepts that could benefit multiple companies,” said Newby. “The first of these is putting restaurants together on deliciousgreenbay.com. It went on sale at the end of June.”
Delicious Green Bay is a concept that can be applied to cities across the country in the future. He explains that this is where independent restaurants collaborate with other restaurants to influence brand promotion. We have a website and social media pages where they can tell their stories, showcase their menu, blog about trends, offer specials, and be part of their weekly emails. increase.
On his Facebook page, Newby said: National chains don’t need to apply because I don’t think they have a place to compete with passionate, small independent restaurants serving the best food we’ve ever tasted. . ”
There are about 20 restaurants that have been featured during Newby’s so-called “proof of concept.” These companies will be offered the opportunity to participate in the launch without paying a fee. Once a decision is made, he will offer various affordable packages with the goal of promoting 50 to 100 restaurants on the site.
“At the end of the month, I meet with participating restaurants and ask them what they like and don’t like and start from there,” Newby said. I want to do it, but I can’t because I don’t have the time or the budget. ”
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Networking has been a big part of the growth of both businesses, and he found Green Bay welcoming entrepreneurs. He recently unveiled his restaurant concept at the One Million Cups and found it helpful to “get out of your own echo chamber and think about the concept in different ways.”
Besides these startups, he has other ideas he wants to pursue. Rather than trying to do everything himself, he contracts writers, digital designers, and other “creatives.” He feels like he has a good balance between his life and work, but he struggles with impatience.
“I expect my business to grow faster than it could,” Newby said. “I had to sit down and plan a growth timeline that made sense. For now, it’s a matter of setting realistic expectations.”
Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is a co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and served as District Director for SCORE, Wisconsin.
