2025 Small Business Marketing Meetup

Event description

Elevate your marketing with real-world strategies, expert insights, and practical tools designed for small businesses. This year’s Marketing Meetup brings together marketing professionals, educators, and entrepreneurs for an energizing day of hands-on learning. Dive into sessions on sharpening your marketing strategy, leveraging data-driven research, and uncovering hidden website pitfalls. You’ll also explore the power of Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) to boost your local reach without needing a mailing list. 

Walk away inspired and equipped with actionable tactics to improve your customer journey, increase visibility, and drive real results, starting now! 

Morning Session

Better Strategy, Better Results - Presented by Doug Stucky- Assistant Dean and Director of Curriculum and Program Development 

Work through practical exercises to sharpen your marketing strategy and boost results. Learn to read customer and industry signals, improve the customer journey, and stand out in your market—all while building a focused, winning strategy you can start using immediately. 

Breakout Session

Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) - Presented by Koell Collins- Wichita American Marketing Association, Programming VP & Founder, STBL Strategies 

Learn how to use EDDM, a low-cost USPS program, to target neighborhoods without a mailing list. Discover how this powerful tool can help small businesses and local organizations increase visibility and grow their customer base efficiently. 

Breakout Session

The Hidden Costs of a Bad Website - Presented by Marisa Vanskiver- CEO and Senior Educator 

Discover how your website might be secretly costing you leads and sales. This talk reveals the hidden drains of poor user experience (UX) and inaccessible design, and then provides simple, actionable tweaks you can implement right away to boost your online performance and stop the leak of potential revenue. 

Afternoon Session

From Ideas to Impact: Using Research To Build Your Business - Presented by Dr. Lynn Matthews- Assistant Professor of Marketing, Barton School of Business, Wichita State University 

Turn instincts into impact by learning how to use research to guide your business decisions. Discover how to frame the right questions, choose effective research methods, and apply insights that drive smart, strategic growth. 

Date: Friday, July 11th, 2025 

Time: 10:00 am – 2:15 pm (Check-in at 9:30 am) 

Cost: $10.00 to attend. Registration is required. 

Registration closes on Monday, July 7th 2025

**Disclaimer: Sessions will not be recorded. However, all attendees will receive presentation materials via email after the event. Lunch will be available for purchase. Please note that per SBDC policy, refunds are not available. Free parking is provided at the WSU Metroplex.