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Local PR owner Nicole Pence gives six questions to boost small‑business visibility
Summary
Nicole Pence, owner of Penn's Media Group, told Carmel small‑business owners to start marketing strategy by answering six core questions—remember, understand, trust, find, experience and positioning as an expert—and urged consistent, owned digital channels before paid or earned media.
Nicole Pence, owner of Penn's Media Group, offered a practical six‑question framework she said every small business should answer before picking marketing tactics: Do people remember us? Do people understand us? Do people trust us? Can people find us? Can people experience us? Are we positioning ourselves as experts?
Pence framed those questions around four lessons she said journalism taught her: "Trust matters, credibility matters, relationships matter, and stories matter." She argued that branding is ‘‘what people remember,’’ not just a logo, and used local examples—Carmel Education Foundation and Anthony's Chop House—to show how consistent messaging and experience drive customer action.
On public relations, Pence described earned media as third‑party credibility that amplifies trust: "Public relations allows someone else to say that you're great." But she warned businesses to be ready to scale operations before seeking broad publicity: "But hold on on making it loud. You gotta be ready." She cited a local nonprofit example where a small digital spend significantly increased ticket sales.
Pence urged owners to 'own' their digital presence: update Google Business profiles, keep websites clear, and pick one social platform to use consistently rather than running multiple neglected accounts. She recommended video and visual assets to give prospective customers proof of the experience and suggested small, sustained actions—"pick one thing in the next 30 days"—to move marketing forward.
In Q&A Pence said many clients stumble on ‘‘the willingness to play ball’’—committing to strategy and accepting outside expertise. She recommended delegating and being consistent rather than trying to perfect every tactic at once. "Consistency beats perfection every single time," she said.
Pence offered business owners contact points for follow‑up and encouraged attendees to think of storytelling as service to the community as well as a way to grow revenue.
