National Be Heard Day
It's like trying to get noticed in a sea of people, but small businesses are scrappy, and with creativity and perseverance, they can succeed.
Small businesses have many challenges to be successful. It can be an exciting experience to start a business and do something that you love.
The reality comes in getting your message out and bring the paying customers in. Getting marketing advice can be an expensive proposition and every penny counts to a small business.
National Be Heard Day is the day to make things a little easier!
History of National Be Heard Day
The task of getting the message of small businesses through all the noise of bigger companies and their marketing machines could be described as herculean.
Local and small businesses are sometimes not even noticed by those who live near them because of this. Marketing and Business Strategist Shannon Cherry saw this problem and decided to do something about it.
She created National Be Heard Day in 2004 and since then has been making a difference to many small business owners.
Her goal for National Be Heard Day reportedly is to make it a “give away day”, a day where she and other business and marketing professionals offer their services and knowledge for free.
How amazing this that? Being able to get advice from these professionals could mean the difference between complete failure or shining success for some small businesses!
How to celebrate National Be Heard Day
There are some great ways to celebrate National Be Heard Day and it doesn’t matter if you own a business or not! If you are a business owner, the best way for you to celebrate is to grab your favorite search engine and get to Ms. Cherry’s site for this year and sign up!
The ability to receive thousands of dollars’ worth of advice is too good to pass up!
Another way to celebrate is to make time to sit down and objectively look over the marketing plan you are currently working with.
See if you are being creative enough to cut through all the other marketing going on in your area. Should you try to use different types of marketing? These questions and more that she offers can lead to greater success!
National Be Heard Day & Budget Awareness
When you run a small business with limited revenues, celebrating National Be Heard Day is the best thing you can do for growth. Indeed, let’s not forget that National Be Heard Day exists to help local and small businesses to get noticed.
But, as a small business owner, you can use the day to evaluate the marketing budget you’ve got in place. For small businesses, your marketing budget is instrumental to your success.
But it’s easy to focus your attention on the wrong message or the wrong audience. If you want to be heard, you need to spend your budget where it’s going to make a difference.
Start your National Be Heard Day preparations by focusing your attention on the best ways to get your brand recognized and your message heard in your local community.
You don’t want to waste money on activities that may not be targeting the best audience or message for your brand.
National Be Heard Day To Hear Your Customers
Your customers have expectations when they enter your shop. Understanding what your audience needs and wants from you will make a great deal of difference.
After all, your message may not be heard because you’re not saying what people want to hear. Therefore, you can launch a customer survey to celebrate National Be Heard Day and make sure you can listen to what your audience says.
If you run a shop in the high street, why not run a special offer on the day to encourage people to come in and have a chat? Add an incentive to your survey, such as a free gift.
An honest discussion with some of your customers can highlight potential challenges you didn’t know about or show you a new direction to explore.
National Be Heard Day To Check On Competitors
Your competitors are active in your local community. When a small business struggles to attract new clients, it’s because people prefer to buy from another brand.
In other words, your message can’t be heard because your competitors are making too much noise. The core of National Be Heard Day is to make sure your voice can reach out to your audience.
In short, it can be a good idea to compare your message against those of your competitors. Do you use similar messages? Can you differentiate your voice from those of other businesses?
Identifying the key elements that make your brand unique – your Unique Selling Propositions – can help to get your message across. It’s the perfect day to go back to the drawing board and create a message that showcases your business personality.
National Be Heard Day On The Market
Have you ever stopped to consider whether your brand is reputable enough? Many small businesses can forget to check their brand image and reputation.
Mishaps can happen to anybody. A typo on a flyer, a failed delivery, and suddenly one unhappy customer can leave a negative review that affects your brand.
Make it your responsibility during National Be Heard Day to review what people say about your brand on digital channels. You can address criticism directly, or explain how you intend to make things better.
Your message is not going to be heard if people don’t know whether they can trust you. Show them that you care about them.
Don’t own a business?
Don’t worry! You can celebrate National Be Heard Day and have fun at the same time! Grab the family and get out on the town!
Find those small businesses in your community that you haven’t had time to stop into yet. Have a fun day of shopping and helping to support your community. Learning where these great businesses are is only part of the fun.
There is nothing better than a great day of shopping, and seeing friends along the way. Ok, maybe there is… you could make new friends as you check out the shops! Consumer or Owner, National Be Heard Day is a great time to make connections.
Thanks to Shannon Cherry, there are many options for advice that previously may not have been available to those who are following their dream running a small business. Be a part of the day and post on social media using #BeHeardDay to show how you are taking part!
National Be Heard Day FAQs
How much should a small business typically spend on marketing to be noticed?
Marketing and small business experts often suggest budgeting between 5% and 10% of gross revenue for marketing, with newer or growth-focused businesses sometimes investing more to build awareness.
The exact figure depends on margins, industry, and goals, but planning a fixed percentage helps owners avoid both overspending and the common mistake of cutting marketing too deeply when cash is tight.
Is it better for a small business to focus on social media or local offline marketing?
Most small businesses see the best results from a mix of both, tailored to where their customers actually are.
Research shows that local search, word of mouth, and in-person experiences drive many small business purchases, while social media and search engines help people discover and validate those businesses.
A practical approach is to build a simple, accurate online presence, then support it with community involvement, signage, events, and partnerships with nearby businesses.
What are some common marketing mistakes that keep small businesses from being heard?
Frequent problems include trying to appeal to everyone instead of a clear target audience, inconsistent branding, relying only on one channel, and skipping basic planning and measurement.
Many small firms also neglect simple tasks such as keeping business information up to date online, responding to reviews, or collecting customer emails, which can dramatically limit how often potential buyers see and trust the business.
How important are customer reviews for a small business trying to stand out?
Customer reviews are highly influential for small businesses, particularly in local search results.
Studies on consumer behavior show that most people read online reviews before choosing a local business, and they tend to trust recent, detailed reviews.
Actively requesting feedback, responding politely to both praise and criticism, and correcting real issues raised in reviews can improve visibility and signal reliability to new customers.
Can a very small business compete with large companies without a big advertising budget?
Very small businesses can compete by focusing on strengths that large companies often struggle to match, such as personal service, niche specialization, and strong local relationships.
Research on entrepreneurship shows that clear positioning, word-of-mouth referrals, community engagement, and targeted digital tools like local SEO and email lists can produce meaningful results at low cost, especially when owners communicate a distinct story and value proposition.
How can a small business figure out what message will actually resonate with customers?
The most reliable method is to ask and observe customers directly, then test variations.
Techniques such as short surveys, informal conversations, monitoring questions received by staff, and reviewing search queries or frequently asked questions help reveal what customers care about in their own words.
Using that language in marketing messages and adjusting based on response data typically leads to clearer, more effective communication.
Why should a small business bother analyzing its competitors’ marketing?
Competitive analysis helps a small business understand how others in the same space describe their offers, set prices, and reach customers, which in turn highlights gaps or opportunities.
By reviewing competitors’ websites, storefronts, promotions, and customer feedback, an owner can refine their own positioning, avoid copying crowded messages, and emphasize unique strengths that make their business easier to recognize and remember.
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