Outbound Marketing Inbound Marketing and the Ultimate Internet Image

How to Prepare an Inbound Marketing Consultation & Competitive Analysis

June 25, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Inbound Marketing A through Z: Beginning a Marketing Consultancy Part II

In yesterday’s article I discussed my inbound marketing consultancy, The Ultimate Internet Image, and also discussed the Offline Gold Rush, the race to inbound marketing consulting riches and those individuals exploiting this trend with hype and irresponsible claims:

“Step right up and make $5,000 to $10,000 per month with your eyes closed! Oh yeah, while standing on your head…Yeah, that’s the ticket!”

I think I mentioned something about prime oceanfront property in Arizona while I was at it?

And PT Barnum?

Well, once again:

”Step right up!”

Additionally, I discussed the awareness, empathy, and experience required to effectively advise and assist traditional offline businesses. The aforementioned awareness is an absolute necessity whether you are working with brick and mortar businesses (retail), professional practices, service-oriented businesses, and/or specialty shops.

Hopefully, I put the seriousness of the commitment we all make when we take on a new client in perspective? The relationship you have with an inbound marketing client, with any client, should indeed be viewed as a marriage!

Finally, the online and offline worlds were discussed as they relate to an overall marketing strategy, a marketing strategy that includes both inbound marketing and targeted, quantifiable outbound marketing under a single umbrella, and umbrella I refer to as a synergy of the two, hybrid marketing.

In this article I will discuss how The Ultimate Internet Image prepares for a comprehensive, inbound marketing consultation and competitive analysis. Interestingly, at The Ultimate Internet Image we focus first on an inbound marketing consultation, helping the prospective client understand new media marketing, and then, once the client is on board, work towards integrating the best outbound techniques into a hybrid marketing model tailored to the precise needs of the client.

In many instances, preparation for a marketing consultation and competitive analysis begins long before we receive the call from a business or professional practice (another kind of business) for an appointment. The preparation begins with targeting an audience, a target market we feel will be receptive to our message.

Significantly, the same methods we use to acquire clients, a hyrid approach to marketing, are often used to acquire clients for our clients. If it works for us, it will generally work for our clients, with a few variations and tweaks of course. So, we are aware of how many of the businesses and practices operate, at least generally, before we ever receive the call.

Once the call is made or email sent, an appointment is set. The initial marketing consultation is usually set a few days out. Interestingly, I grew up in the school that advocated the opposite, striking while the iron is hot, “porcupines in heat” and all of that (I will explain later).

However, we have found that a little extra time accomplishes a number of things:

It eliminates the tire kickers. Remember, this is a long term relationship and we only want clients who take a long and broad view. If someone is in that big of a hurry to meet, while we will certainly do all in our power to accommodate them, warning bells begin to sound. Slow and easy wins the inbound marketing race, not pressure and hype, from either end.
It allows for qualified appointments, appointments that allow the prospective client to do a little poking around. If they do, they invariably find out that we are the real deal and can do what we say we will do.
It allows us to do all the research we need to do in order to understand their business inside and out.
It allows us to crawl inside the niche and understand who the players are and how we are going to attack them. Yes, attack!
It allows us to put all the data we collect into a binder so when we present our findings to our new client. As a result, they know we are serious and we do our homework. We do NOT use a canned presentation or “pitch book!” Every clients is unique, if we do our homework without a commitment and without being paid, how much more will we do for them once we are on board?
It allows us to get beyond credentials, references, and business cards and on to how we can serve them as a marketing expert.
It eliminates money as the deciding factor in almost every instance…or at least moves it way down on the list of objections and obstacles.
It allows us to answer most objections before they ever come up!

Once we do our homework, homework that includes a myriad of factors, we meet with the prospective client. The inbound marketing consultation and competitive analysis, as stated in Part I, takes between and hour and a half and two hours on average and is the first of at least two meetings.

UII never closes on the first visit, there is too much in stake on both sides of the table.

In the inbound marketing consultation and competitive analysis we discuss the following:

How the owner got into business or profession they are in, including where they went to school and where they live now.
Did they grow up in the area?
How long have they been in business?
What is the biggest challenge they are currently facing?
What is the issue they are currently and consistently grappling with that concerns them most?
What have they tried to do about it?
What marketing strategies are they currently employing?
- Are they online?
- Do they have a website?
- Do they understand SEO?
- Do they use social media?
- Who writes their copy?
- Are they using PPC (pay-per-click)?
- What is their monthly ad spend?
- Are they tracking the results?
- If so, what are the metrics?
- Do they use video?
- If they use video, how?
- Who produces their video for them?
- Do they use audio?
- Do they have a blog?
- Do they have an online shopping cart?
- How big is their email list?
- Do they have an email list?
- How often do they contact their clients, past and present?
- Do they have an active referral system?
- Do they know how they rank with Alexa?
- How do they rank with Quantcast?
- Do they use analytics?
- Do they show up and page one of the various search engines?
- For what keyword phrases?

And so on!

Interestingly, by the time we meet with a prospective client, by the time the questions above and many more like it are asked, we already know the answers.

The Ultimate Internet Image does a comprehensive analysis of not only the prospective client’s business or practice, their Internet Image, their online presence and effectiveness, we also do a complete analysis of the top ten competitors in the niche.

Significantly, with the tools at our disposal, we are almost always right on the money.

Pun intended!

Using the resources we either own or have memberships to, we will know what a prospective client’s PR is (Google’s Page Rank), how they rank with Alexa and Quantcast, what keywords they are paying for and how much they are spending per click, per day, and per month.

UII will also know what keywords a competitor is buying and which ones overlap with the ones our prospective client is focusing on. The Ultimate Internet Image will also know which keywords are competed for organically and how vulnerable the prospective client and their competitors are to being bumped down and/or off of page one.

We also have a complete list of the keywords and their frequency, every keyword phrase used, on the client’s site. All the data is assessed and quantified. We then do the same for each of the competitors.

Links and Longevity

Links and longevity are two of the most important factors in achieving a page one ranking for the various keywords of interest on the various search engine results pages (SERPS). The number of pages a website has will have a profound impact on its rank, provided the pages, as well as the website as a whole, are put together properly and have the proper focus (i.e., keywords, keyword density, overall construction, etc.).

Significantly, UII will also know how many pages our prospective client’s site has indexed with the various search engines. The Ultimate Internet Image will also know how many pages each of the competitors’ sites have. In other words, every page indexed with Google, Yahoo, and Bing will be accounted for and compared. We will also know how many incoming links each site has and where they originate.

This is, of course, the tip of the iceberg. However, it provides a window into just how complete an analysis is required if you are to understand a prospective client and their competitive niche.

This takes more than a $97 e-course or a $997 e-course, it takes everything mentioned in Part I, and above:

Awareness
Empathy
Experience
Preparation
And so much more!

Ultimately, the decision of whether to create an inbound marketing consultancy is your’s. However, whether you are considering the creation of a comprehensive hybrid marketing firm or one that is more specialized, a consultancy dealing solely with inbound marketing, social media management, video marketing, or one of the many other niches within marketing, you must become a student of your craft, a student of not only one aspect of marketing but of the businesses you intend to serve.

Success in inbound marketing, in any aspect of marketing, is a Herculean task and one not to be taken lightly.

The Siren’s Call?

The $5,000 to $10,000 per month?

It is do-able!

However, you must over-deliver and you must become a student of marketing. Forget about The 4 Hour Workweek and that business about working 2-3 hours a day. If you are going to serve your clients to the best of your ability, you will have to put in the time…and the money!

As stated in Part I, when you take on a client you are taking on a trust, you are entering a long-term business relationship not unlike a marriage. So, once again, become a student of your business, inbound marketing, social media, whatever; and, their business. If you do so, you will serve your clients well and have a good shot of making it long-term; and, you will make a lot more than the amount advertised by the Internet marketing “gurus” attempting to cash in on the latest Gold Rush, the Offline Business Gold Rush.

Finally, Michael Gerber stated, in The E Myth Revisted, that 80% of all businesses fail in the first 5 years. He goes on to note that 80% of the remainging 20% fail in the second 5 years.

A sobering statistic!

You have the opportunity to help others make it through the transtitional periods, including the marketing shift currently underway; and, in the process become not only a lasting business in your own right but earn life-long clients, as well.

In Part III of Inbound Marketing A through Z: Beginning a Marketing Consultancy we will address many of the strategies we use at The Ultimate Internet Image to take clients from a 0 PR, often stuck there for years, and absent from page one of the various SERPS, and create for them a powerful and lasting online presence…The Ultimate Internet Image.

Contact us anytime for a comprehensive inbound marketing consultation and competitive analysis.

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-712-7004 (bus)
440-821-7018 (cell)

Be Sociable, Share!

Inbound Marketing A through Z: Beginning a Marketing Consultancy – Part I

June 25, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Beginning an Inbound Marketing Marketing Consultancy and the Gold Rush

Offline Gold, 4 Hours a Week, and the Business of Marriage

First, before we get started I want to warn you, this is going to ruffle a few feathers. In fact, that is part of the reason I am writing it!

There has been a lot of talk about Offline Marketing Gold, particularly as it relates to social media management and inbound marketing. This article is the first of three parts. The first is more conceptual, broad strokes and my take on what is happening online in marketing today. I also talk about whether you are the right fit to pursue inbound marketing as a career.

And yes, it is a career!

An inbound marketing consultancy is not The 4 Hour Workweek and it is not 2 hours a day from the beach. My clients at The Ultimate Internet Image want results and they want to see me or at least hear from me…often.

After all, I have their professional lives in my hands (I will explain below).

So, just a warning before we begin. I will be all over the place today but tomorrow I will pull it all together and provide the actual nuts and bolts, the resources I apply from the time I begin to assess a prospective client through signing them as a marketing client of The Ultimate Internet Image.

In Part III of Inbound Marketing A through Z: Beginning a Marketing Consultancy I will address the various options you have for developing a client’s Internet image or online presence, the software we use at The Ultimate Internet Image to get clients to page one in hours (our record in 56 minutes) and the strategies involved in keeping them there. Additionally, and this is crucial, I will address how we get page one listings to convert into clients, ultimately into dollars.

Yes, Google’s page one is nice, you can’t beat it, but once there, and once someone visits your website as a result of a page one organic (or sponsored) listing, how do we get the visitor to act? The strategies we use at UII will be addressed in detail in Part III.

So, on to the Gold Rush!

I have been reading a lot about all the money to be made in “offline” business consulting, inbound marketing consulting to be more precise. The offline business world is made up predominantly of brick and mortar businesses (retail in all its many manifestations), service oriented businesses (e.g., HVAC, plumbers, landscapers, contractors of all sorts, computer repair, etc.), professional practices (e.g., medical doctors, dentists, chiropractors, podiatrists, attorneys, accountants, etc.), and speciality providers. I use specialty providers as a catch-all for those types of businesses where a special service or a special order is required, you can’t just walk in and buy something; there is a process.

In other words, there’s a lot of “gold in them thar hills!”

Or at least that’s what certain savvy marketers would have you believe.

“Step right up ladies and gentelman,” as PT Barnum would say, “watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!” Or? $5000 to $10,000 a month!

Those are the numbers I see thrown around each and every day. Significantly, the numbers are being thrown around on the Internet; and, almost always by Internet marketing “gurus” selling programs on how to make $5000 to $10,000 a month offline!

Hmmm?

I am often amused when I read such claims, not because there isn’t some validity, because there is, but because it seems the offline world, whether retail, service-oriented, professional, or specialty, has become the latest California Gold Rush. And, as is always the case when “gold fever” strikes, there is no shortage of shrewd Internet marketers out there ready, willing, and very able to stoke the fire and fuel the hype. We’ll get into the distinction between hype and reality in a bit.

Picks and Shovels Anyone?

You may have heard the story of Samuel Brannan (1819-1889), the founder of the California Star and the proprietor of the Sutter Fort store, among many others. Sam Brannan made his fortune selling picks and shovels, predominantly shovels, to the miners and wannabe miners caught up in the California Gold Rush (1848-1855) fever of the day. The story is told by J.S. Holiday in Rush for Riches; Gold Fever and the Making of California (1999).

Interestingly, it is said that Brannan used tithes collected from members of the LDS Church to buy the shovels and then ran (some say strode) through the streets, holding a small vial of gold dust and yelling:

“Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!”

The tithes were actually colllected from the earnings of the LDS miners themselves.

Brannan never spent a dime of his own money, he simply parleyed the money of others and then fueled the hype so people who were thinking about cashing in had nowhere else to turn for their supplies. The Sutter Fort store is said to have sold $150,000 per month worth of supplies in 1849.

In 1849!

Not bad for someone who never mined an ounce of gold himself. Sam just preyed on the gullibility and the greed of others to make his fortune, Brannan’s own greed is, of course, notwithstanding.

I hope you can see the parallels?

It seems every time there is a new idea, a gimmick, or whatever, there’s no shortage of Sam Brannans ready to cash on the gold rushers. In this case, the offline gold rushers looking for all that offline business gold.

Inbound Marketing Gold!

Is it real? Yes…and no!

Yes, there is money to be made inbound marketing consulting, or offline business consulting if you will. And no, it is not as easy as many Internet marketing gurus would have you believe, not by a long shot. But that doesn’t stop savvy marketers from charging $97 or $997 or $997 or $9997 and up for the Holy Grail, the secret to end all secrets, the ultimate cash-in:

Offline Business Gold!

Let me qualify all of this before we go any further.

I almost said “Let me say this about that!” A Richard Milhous Nixon moment – Phew – what a flashback!

OK, back to inbound marketing consulting!

There always has been and, no doubt as we move into an era of greater and greater specialization, always will be, a need for consultants. However, we are talking about the need for marketing consultants who are intimately in tune with the offline business world and, in particular, with the needs of the traditional brick and mortar retail business, professional practice, service-oriented business, or specialty shop. The familiarity does not have to be specific to the client’s business but there must be an overall awareness of what it takes to survive in the “offline” world. There must also be an awareness of how outbound marketing may still fit into an overall sales and marketing strategy.

Why?

Because without awareness and flexibility there can be no empathy and if you can’t put yourself in your client’s shoes, how can you possibly understand their needs, wants, and desires?

Online vs Offline

Additionally, we do not live in an online world, we live in a world that is both online and offline; and, to neglect either is to fail your client. Yes, we are becoming increasingly connected, particularly in the developed world, and the developing world is catching up fast, but remember, being connected, having access to an Internet connection, does not always mean using the Internet connection.

It’s interesting how many advertising and marketing people I talk to, online and offline, inbound and outbound, who think in terms of one world when in fact there are two.

Some people never turn on a computer, don’t know how to set up an email account, much less check it, and really could care less. If you neglect that portion of your client’s market, you are leaving a ton of money out of the equation; and, perhaps it may be the difference between profitability and bankruptcy.

OK, so you say you have an awareness and you have empathy. You also feel you understand the importance of a hybrid approach to marketing, the synergy between outbound and inbound marketing strategies. And, finally, you have been there, done that in one way or another.

That’s great! If you can communicate your awareness, and your empathy, to you prospective marketing client you may have a shot.

If not?

You may want to consider a different career choice.

I am not trying to burst anyone’s balloon here but we are talking about peoples’ lives, their business and personal well-being will be in your hands. If you fail, there is a good chance your client’s business will fail…or at least take a significant hit. This is serious and it takes more than a ninety-seven dollar course or a nine thousand, nine hundred, and ninety-seven dollar course to get you there, it takes time, awareness, empathy, imagination, experience, and thick skin.

Yes, very thick skin!

This is not checkers, this is chess; this is about strategy and the stakes are high! As I have said in previous articles, you take on a scared trust when you acquire a client. And, if you drop the ball, your client takes the hit professionally and personally. Additionally, your performance affects your client’s family’s well-being, their employees’ and their empolyees’ familys’ well-being; and, particularly if the client has a sizable business or practice, you may affect the entire community.

Still want to be an inbound marketing consultant?

If so, there may be hope for you!

Combined with your marketing knowledge generally, and inbound marketing experience specifically, you must be able to integrate the business’ personality, and that of its owner, into your marketing strategy. That sort of understanding and familiarity takes getting to know your client over a period of time. To that end, you must have access to your client on a regular basis.

In many ways, your new relationship with your marketing client will be like a marriage; and, you should be prepared to be in it for the long haul.

Beware!

If someone is looking for a quick fix, look out!

Quick fixes are rare and generally take a lot more money than the individual requiring such a “fix” is willing to invest. It is kind of the like the tutor who gets a phone call two weeks before the end of the school year, the child is failing, and the parent wants the tutor to help the child pass the course. Some things are beyond repair and others, while not beyond repair, simply take more time than you are afforded.

Assess your individual clients carefully, listen to what they are saying, and select your clients after getting to know them. Remember, you are going to be married to them for a long time! Make sure you can work together and do not go into an arrangement simply to make a sale thinking you can fix it later. Most of us who have been or are married know that doesn’t work. Make sure you are on the same wave length right from the start.

Inbound Marketing vs Outbound Advertising

Additionally, just as you must understand there is an offline and an online world, you also need to understand that marketing is not an us or them proposition, outbound versus inbound. In marketing, it is whatever works, whatever communicates the message the client is attempting to get across and doing it in a way that converts a prospect into a client. In other words, you must be able to tailor your marketing message, your USP if you will (unique selling proposition), in such a way that it causes people to take a specific action…whatever that may be.

Ultimately, marketing is about creating a message that will be received in a positive manner; and, the message must prompt a specific, quantifiable action. Significantly, while this is indeed becoming an increasingly relationship-oriented, permission-based world, particularly as it relates to marketing, inbound marketing; there are times when a targeted outbound marketing strategy is warranted. Interestingly, a targeted direct mail strategy will often work quite well, particualry if it is well crated and focuses on the client’s target market. Additionally, there are times when a focused, properly tailored ad campaign will delver results in the local newspaper.

However, and this is big, the outbound marketing campaign must be targeted, trackable (ROI verifiable), and it absolutely must be part of a much broader holistic, hybrid marketing strategy. In other words, the marketing strategy you create must be the best of both worlds, inbound marketing and outbound marketing under a unifying umbrella.

Still with me?

Perhaps you will make it!

Given you have the necessary awareness and empathy, combined with experience; and, once you have an understanding of your client and your client’s business, you are ready to devise a marketing strategy that will fit the needs of the business.

How do you do that?

Well, up until now we have been talking in broad strokes. Now that you have made the decision to create a marketing consultancy, you need to make a decision concerning the type focus your marketing consultancy will have. Will you focus solely on inbound marketing or will it be a hybrid approach to marketing? I recommend the latter.

In any case, once the decision is made, you can begin serving your clients to the best of your ability, knowing you have the ability.

Then, the fun starts!

OK! So, you have gotten past the philosophical hurdles, you have decided you are not just another gold rusher, and you have made the decision to go forward. Now, you can assess individual clients and decide whether you are the right person for them and their business. Equally, if not more important, you must decide if they are the right client for you and your business.

Remember, this is like a marriage so go slow!

Next, I will cover how I proceed once a prospective client contacts The Ultimate Internet Image for a free marketing consultation and competitive analysis. The consultation and analysis take between one and one-half and two hours to complete in the client’s office. If the first session goes well, a second session is scheduled and an in depth hybrid marketing strategy is developed. The preparation time for the 90 to 120 minute session is between 24 and 36 hours.

Once again, this is not about The 4 Hour Workweek or a 2-4 work day. Nor is this something you can do with a $97 or a $997 investment in an e-course. If you believe all of that after reading the above, PT Barnum was right and I have some gorgeous beach front property to show you in the Mojave Desert.

If you are still with me, I hope I have made you think a bit and I promise if you stay with me for Parts II and III, it will be worth your while.

Contact me anytime!

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-712-7004 (bus)
440-821-7018 (cell)

Be Sociable, Share!

Marketing Myopia: Inbound Marketing vs Outbound Advertising

June 7, 2010 By admin 2 Comments

Can There Be A Balanced Approach to Outbound Advertising and Inbound Marketing?

Inbound marketing is all the rage, and justifiably so. Inbound marketing is an effective way to get in front of a lot of people searching for your products and/or services online. In other words, by applying a targeted new media, inbound marketing strategy, a business or professional practice can get in front of their target audience in a way simply not possible using most outbound advertising strategies.

Hence the Debate in Marketing Today!

You see, there is a debate going on in marketing today, a kind of tug-of-war between the traditional, outbound marketing world and the young turks of the new media, those consultants and consultancies applying inbound marketing strategies often to the exclusion of all else. Significantly, what we are seeing, instead of a synthesis, instead of a synergy of old and new, the most effective of both marketing worlds being tied into a single and effective strategy, most marketers are in the “My dad can beat up your dad!” mode.

There’s Offline and Online Marketing and Never the Twain Shall Meet

What exactly does that mean? Never the twain shall meet?

It means that two things are so different there will never be an opportunity for them to unite. This mentality is at the crux of the outbound advertising – inbound marketing debate and is symptomatic of what I refer to as marketing myopia. Marketing myopia is rampant and is a typical response whenever a new idea endangers the old-guard. I will explain in greater depth in a moment but for now think of how inertia works against progress and you are on your way to understanding what is ultimately behind the debate.

Inertia and the Crux of the Matter

The ongoing debate is particularly puzzling for traditional brick and mortar business owners. If the experts can’t agree, and when do the experts agree about anything, how is a business owner to know who to believe and which strategy is best for his or her business? The ongoing debate, whether to engage in outbound advertising or inbound marketing is ongoing and is an essential marketing point requiring resolution.

However, like most debates, there are strong feelings on both sides and many ways of looking at the myriad and complex issues.

In order to understand the issues at the heart of the outbound – inbound debate, it’s important to understand that while inbound marketing is indeed all the rage, the emergent and soon to be dominant force in marketing today, there are still very complex three worlds, three overarching strategies, and three audiences (not always separate and distinct), when it comes to marketing:

The Offline World

The Online World

The Online/Offline World

Significantly, while there are three very different worlds, or target audiences. The three audiences are very broad; and can, in fact must, be broken down still further into a seemingly infinite number of niches and niches within niches. Significantly, how we reach an audience is often niche specific, having less to do with a particular advertising or marketing bias and more to do with how a particular audience receives the bulk of their information.

How a particular audience receives information has as much to do with demographics, psychographics, and firmographics as the message itself. There are also a variety of socioeconomic variables, those not addressed in the variables listed above, that come into play and must be addressed if a marketing campaign is to be truly effective. For a marketing message, an advertising campaign, to be effective it must reach the targeted segment of the market (target audience), those receptive to the message and willing to act upon it, or at least consider it.

According to Wikipedia, “psychographic variables,” or simply psychographics, “are any attributes relating to personality, values, attitudes, interests, or lifestyles. They are also called IAO variables (for Interests, Activities, and Opinions). They can be contrasted with demographic variables (such as age and gender), behavioral variables (such as usage rate or loyalty), and firmographic variables (such as industry, seniority and functional area).”

Interestingly, many marketing consultants would have the businesses and professional practices they advise target a particular audience based on the biases of the marketing consultant rather than based upon how a particular audience receives and accepts media messages (i.e., advertising).

Unfortunately, most marketing consultants would have a client lump all their efforts into one basket, often to the exclusion of all else, based solely on the strengths of the marketing firm and not on the needs of the business and its target audience.

Hence the Phrase: Marketing Myopia!

While there can be little doubt that the offline world, meaning those who either intentionally or unintentionally are without Internet access, is disappearing. This trend is real and the growth of the online world is exponential, particular in the developing world.

While the offline world is still much larger than the online world, at least worldwide, the gap is closing.

The table below provides the numbers from Internet World Stats

WORLD INTERNET USAGE AND POPULATION STATISTICS
World Regions	Population ( 2009 Est.)	Internet Users Dec. 31, 2000	*Internet Users* *Latest Data*	Penetration (% Population)	Growth 2000-2009	Users % of Table
Africa	991,002,342	4,514,400	86,217,900	8.7 %	1,809.8 %	4.8 %
Asia	3,808,070,503	114,304,000	764,435,900	20.1 %	568.8 %	42.4 %
Europe	803,850,858	105,096,093	425,773,571	53.0 %	305.1 %	23.6 %
Middle East	202,687,005	3,284,800	58,309,546	28.8 %	1,675.1 %	3.2 %
North America	340,831,831	108,096,800	259,561,000	76.2 %	140.1 %	14.4 %
Latin America/Caribbean	586,662,468	18,068,919	186,922,050	31.9 %	934.5 %	10.4 %
Oceania / Australia	34,700,201	7,620,480	21,110,490	60.8 %	177.0 %	1.2 %
WORLD TOTAL	6,767,805,208	360,985,492	1,802,330,457	26.6 %	399.3 %	100.0 %
NOTES: (1) Internet Usage and World Population Statistics are for December 31, 2009. (2) CLICK on each world region name for detailed regional usage information. (3) Demographic (Population) numbers are based on data from the US Census Bureau . (4) Internet usage information comes from data published by Nielsen Online, by the International Telecommunications Union, byGfK, local Regulators and other reliable sources. (5) For definitions, disclaimer, and navigation help, please refer to the Site Surfing Guide. (6) Information in this site may be cited, giving the due credit to www.internetworldstats.com. Copyright © 2000 – 2010, Miniwatts Marketing Group. All rights reserved worldwide.

The Online World

In certain areas of the world, the percentage of the population with Internet access has overtaken the numbers without computer access and an Internet connection.

Interestingly, the numbers for the US, Europe, and Oceania/Australia indicate that if you are in a traditional brick and mortar business in one of these areas of the world, inbound marketing must be an integral component in your marketing strategy. However, there is still 23.8% of the population in the US without Internet access; 47% of the European population is without Internet access; and, 39.2% of the population of Oceania/Australia is without Internet access.

Additionally, and this question must be asked is, although 76.2%, 53.0%, and 60.8% of the populations in the various regions of the world, respectively, have Internet “access,” how many of the people with access actually use a computer regularly? How many of those individuals with access ever use or care to use a computer, much less log-on to the Internet? This is still a huge segment of your possible market and, if you ignore this segment of the population or simply fail to reach them, you may be leaving an incredible amount of money on the table, an audience completely untapped.

The online world is, at least in the areas of the world mentioned above, the majority and is growing rapidly.

Hence, the reason to be in front of this trend!

Consequently, it is crucial to recognize the offline segment of your target market and tailor your marketing strategy to reach them as well.

An aside: Notice the incredible growth rate in Asia, the Middle East, Latin American and the Caribbean, and, in particular, Africa with an 1809.8% growth rate. If you are considering an online business, these regions should play into your business development and marketing plans.

The online world is growing around the world and, hence, inbound marketing must play a pivotal role in your overall marketing strategy. However, engaging in an inbound marketing strategy should not be at the expense of the traditionally offline world, those individuals without computer and Internet access and/or those individuals who choose not to use a computer and the Internet in their daily lives.

The Twain Shall Meet: The Student Instructs the Teacher – The Tail Wagging the Dog!

Significantly, the online/offline world is where most consumers spend their time, attention, and money, balancing both and using whatever works, whatever they are comfortable with situationally. Other factors impacting the efficacy of outbound advertising and inbound marketing strategies are the variable mentioned above: demographics, psychographics, etc.

Interestingly, while many outbound advertising techniques no longer have the same effect they once did, either because the attention span of the target audience has been diminished, it has been segmented and fractured, because consumers no longer have the patience for the intrusive strategies engaged in by many of the outbound advertising campaigns.

Network Television: Consumers are no longer watching network television or, if they are they are, they’re using TiVo and DVRs to edit out commercial messages. Cable is the standard and OnDemand, as well as online versions of Netflix and Blockbuster have eliminated the need to find something to do during commercials. The old-fashioned 60 second sprint to the restroom during commercials has been dealt with by using the pause button.
Commercial Radio: Consumers are listening to dedicated satellite radio (e.g., XM-Sirius) instead of commercial radio stations or they are listening to their own music. Yes, the old-fashioned CD is still around. Does anyone even have a cassette player anymore? MP3s are built in to cars now, standard equipment. Of course, many listeners still do it that old fashioned way, they change the channel. Listener loyalty is only as powerful as the next commercial interruption. How much did you say you paid for a radio spot? Yeah, think again!
Newspapers: Newpapers, including the New York Times and the Washington Post are in trouble. The Huffington Post, a completely online news service will make more money this year than either. Time, CNN, and even the network news companies are scrambling to create an online image with blogs, social media strategies, and the like as fast as they can hire competent social media management.
Yellow Pages: When was the last time you used the Yellow Pages? A recent study revealed that consumers are no longer using the Yellow Pages to seek information prior to purchase but are going directly to search engines. The Internet has replaced the Yellow Pages as the vehicle of choice for consumer search. This means that more local consumers of goods and services are using the Internet to find local merchants, service providers, and professional services online. The report also revealed an increased usage frequency for online sources versus that of Yellow Pages usage. Not only is the Internet being used more than traditional print media, it is being used more often. This trend promises to increase over the next decade. Significantly, in 2008 62% of all consumer search activity involved the Internet, and that included an appallingly low 1% search via mobile phones. The mobile phone data is certain to explode in the next decade as most cell phones integrate fast and inexpensive Internet access. Yellow Pages search dropped to 30% and yellow pages-type directories are scrambling to gain a footing online, something they should have been doing a decade ago.
Direct Mail: One of the neat new tools used to gage reader attention online is called a heat map. The heat map tracks a reader’s eye movement online, that they read first and what holds their attention the longest. If there was a “heat map” in your home or office that tracked your pattern of activity, it would be bright red from the mailbox to “File 13!” The path from the mailbox to the garbage can is well-worn and the trip is made on complete auto-pilot. You have that much time and perhaps 3 seconds at the trash can to gain your reader’s attention long enough to get them to open what you have mailed…or it is gone forever. Interestingly, the same is true for websites. You have long enough for someone to “Blink” (read Malcolm Gladwell’s awesome book “Blink”) and it is over. The reality of the situation is, most direct mail and most websites fail to make the cut…gone forever!

The question becomes, if the numbers are so powerfully skewed in favor of the Internet and inbound marketing, why do I need to use outbound advertising at all? Given the current trend, why should I consider outbound adverting, wouldn’t it be wiser to invest solely in inbound marketing?

Great questions and I hear them time and time again. The answer is surprisingly simple, because there are three worlds and while the Internet is an incredibly powerful force, there is still an incredibly deep and broad segment of almost every audience that is not plugged into the Internet. Yes, there are instances where almost 100% of your efforts should be online. If you are selling Internet access, you might want to be online. However, you must also consider the person who is not currently connected but is looking for the right online solution. For that individual, you need to be offline in order to take the prospective client online. Yes, they will undoubtedly do their research but the right outbound advertising campaign will reach that prospective client too.

The secret to Outbound Marketing?

You need to be where your target audience is and the message must be targeted. And, the content must hold the prospective client’s attention long enough to convey the targeted marketing message and prompt them to act. You have 3 seconds! Gone are the days of the full page spread with a bunch of pictures and the headline:

“Biggest Selection – Lowest Prices!”

Did that every work? I wonder!

Ultimately, and this is going to fly in the face of much of the conventional wisdom and be counter to what many of the marketing “gurus” will advise, but the final component is patience, taking a long view. Rome wasn’t born in a day and you are not going to see a response to most marketing campaigns overnight, that is unless you are willing to pay the search engines a lot of money to get the exposure you want or you are willing to pay the right consultant, one with a track record for being able to get their clients to page one organically, and keep them there.

So, direct response does not mean immediate response!

I tell all my clients, whether targeted outbound advertising or direct response, new media, inbound marketing, marketing is like farming:

First you plant, then you wait, and wait, and wait………and wait; and then, you harvest!

Most of what happens occurs below the ground, out of sight, and with seemingly nothing happening it is easy to become impatient and even disillusioned. However, there is a process, just beneath the surface, and if you are patient, if you take the long view, your harvest will be amazing.

If you take the short view and fail to continually nurture your fields (i.e., continue to promote consistently), you will end up failing to reap anything close to what is possible with the right approach and the proper perspective.

It is important to have a method of tracking results and it is also important to know when to quit and move on to something else, but taking a long view in marketing is crucial.

Finally, a balanced marketing campaign is essential, one that integrates the best of outbound advertising and inbound marketing into a cohesive and targeted message that works. It is imperative to integrate what works now, today, in 2010 and beyond and not what has worked in the past, in 1964 or 1974 or even 2004.

How do you know if it will work?

Test! Test! Test!

Here’s a final observation and a question for you to think about until next time:

A spot on page one of Google has an incredibly powerful impact on your business’ bottom line, particularly if it is maintained over time and across a number of keyword phrases. An additional spot on page one (e.g., one sponsored and one organic) will not generate twice the impact, the bump is at least 3 times as pronounced! That means you don’t get double the impact, you get three or more times the effect from a double listing on page one. Now, imagine you own most of page one for a given keyword phrase across a number of SERPs (search engine results pages) and across a number of search engines. Now imagine you are aggressively promoting proven, targeted outbound advertising strategies (e.g., targeted direct mail).

What sort of a bump do you think you can expect?

Unlike other marketing strategies that rely heavily on one marketing vehicle, a linked inbound marketing and outbound advertising program accelerate results and have a dramatic impact on your bottom line.

Hopefully, we are on the way to enhancing your awareness of marketing myopia. If you can recognize it, you can avoid it. Don’t fall victim to the marketing biases of your marketing consultant, a consultant or consulting firm advising a single pronged approach is much like a boxer with one arm, you are only going to get half the punching power. Yes, it may be directed…but imagine what you can do with both arms working together!

In the next article we will address various advertising platforms, as well as linked inbound and outbound marketing strategies for brick and mortar businesses.

Contact John Zajaros today for an in depth marketing consultation and competitive analysis.

John Zajaros

The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-712-7004 (bus)
440-821-7018 (cell)

Be Sociable, Share!

Filed Under: Inbound Marketing, Marketing Myopia: Inbound Marketing vs Outbound Advertising, Outbound Marketing Inbound Marketing and the Ultimate Internet Image, Ultimate Internet Image, Ultimate Internet Image Consulting, Understanding Outbound Advertising versus Inbound Marketing Tagged With: Inbound Marketing, Inbound Marketing Consulting, Marketing Consulting, Marketing Myopia: Inbound Marketing vs Outbound Advertising, New Media Marketing, Outbound Advertising

Ideas, Mind Maps, Flow Charts, and Inbound Marketing Consulting

April 19, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

The Ultimate Internet Image

In Your Eyes:

Becoming a Student of the Business Part 2

I spend a good amount of time every day looking at what the competition is doing in my business, primarily the business of inbound marketing, although I do have other business interests. I focus most of my attention on how traditional brick and mortar businesses, also referred to as offline businesses by the online community, interact with the online world, the Internet.

Interestingly, I not only spend a big part of my day studying my business, how to build it, how to make it more effective, and how to market it better, how to serve my clients in the best way possible, I also study the businesses of my clients and the businesses of my client’s clients; and, most importantly, their competition.

Studying the business practices of others is essential in sales and marketing; and, particularly in outbound advertising and inbound marketing consulting.

Additionally, it is imperative we become students of human behavior; and, particularly of buying behavior.

How are we to market to our target audience if we don’t know who they are and what motivates them?

I am constantly amazed by marketing firms, some I have dealth with, that spend a ton of money on flow charts, mind maps, graphs, and fancy websites offering this, that, and the other thing; and yet, have no idea how to market themselves, much less support their clients’ needs.

But man can they make an awesome mind map or flow chart!

The USP or Unique Selling Proposition (or Unique Selling Point)

Significantly, even if we know who our target audience is and what they react to, if we are incapable of reaching them and gaining their confidence (i.e., know, like, and trust), it is more likely than not that we will meet each other on the unemployment line.

Without the proper message, USP or unique selling proposition or point, and the proper messenger, your marketing efforts will fall on deaf ears…or no ears at all!

“Standing on the Shoulders of Giants!” Modeling and Marketing Success

Modeling what works and learning from what doesn’t as a business strategy has been around for a very long time.

In fact, modeling has been around for centuries. Wise men and women have been taking what works, “borrowing” it if you will, and building something even bettter for at least 400 years that we know of; and, probably a lot longer. The 400 years, give or take, is just how long wise men and women have been talking about it.

As early as the twelfth century, scholars have referred to modeling in very specific terms:

Bernard of Chartres (d. after 1124) spoke of being “like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they….”

Isaiah di Trani (c. 1180 – c. 1250) “Who sees further a dwarf or a giant? Surely a giant for his eyes are situated at a higher level than those of the dwarf. But if the dwarf is placed on the shoulders of the giant who sees further? … So too we are dwarfs astride the shoulders of giants. We master their wisdom and move beyond it. Due to their wisdom we grow wise and are able to say all that we say, but not because we are greater than they.“

And of course the most famous of all, the individual often credited with this quote, mistakenly so, is Sir Issac Newton (1643-1727):

“If I can see further than anyone else, it is only because I am standing on the shoulders of giants”

Others who have acknowledged the need for modeling, for the perspective gained from those who have come before include:

Isaiah di Trani (1180–1250) “If I can see further than anyone else, it is only because I am standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Diego de Estella (Didacus Stella) a 16th century Spanish mystic and theologian.

Robert Burton (1577–1640) English scholar and vicar at Oxford University, wrote The Anatomy of Melancholy.

René Descartes (1596–1650) French philosopher, mathematician, physicist, writer. He has been dubbed the “Father of Modern Philosophy.”

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) 19th-century German philosopher.

Interestingly, the quote is also used in a myriad of different ways, including on currency, as a business motto, and the title of a book:

The British two pound coin bears the inscription “STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS” on its edge and has so since 1997. Google Scholar has adopted “Stand on the shoulders of giants” as its motto.

Google!

Tony Robbins refers to modeling often, as do many others across a variety of endeavors and disciplines. Tony Robbins has made a career out of helping others understand and apply modeling to their lives, personal and business.

Tom Hopkins is another modeling expert, a sales and marketing trainer who has built a career teaching sales professionals to model certain, time-tested sales strategies.

Why Entrepreneurs Engage in Modeling

It is because modeling has been demonstarted to be effective through the ages and across disciplines that successful businessmen and women engage in it.

Entrepreneurs, Internet marketing “gurus,” brick and mortar business owners, academics, medical practitioners, sales and marketing consultants, athletes, and even politicians engage in modeling to achieve their goals.

Yes, thinking “outside the box” is essential but doing what works will usually get you there faster than attempting to reinvent the wheel. In fact, we would be foolish not to apply the lessons learned by those who have blazed the trail before us in our daily lives; personal and, certainly, in business.

The questions on your mind if not on the tip of your tongue, because they were on mine, are undoubtedly:

Who do we model?

How do we know what specific strategies and behaviors to model?

And ultimately:

Who do we listen to?

In other words, who really knows what they are talking about?

The reality of the situation is that unless we do our homework, we can’t know!

When we are in school we do homework to get a passing grade; and, if we work hard enough we get an A. Conversely, if we don’t study there is a good chance we will fail.

How much more do we have riding on our business success and/or failure?

Interestingly, and in spite of all that is riding on an individual’s success or failure, many business people, online and offline, simply open their doors and hope for business. Whether in the form of leads, actual floor traffic, orders, patients or appointments, many business and professional people simply get up in the morning, go to work, open the doors, and hope.

This is a recipe for failure!

Often, and at times out of desperation, the brick and mortar business owner will throw a little money at the problem, usually in the form of outbound advertising (i.e., newspaper, radio, yellow pages, shotgun direct mail, or novelty advertising, etc.) with no way to track results and little hope a lasting impact on the business.

Again, a recipe for failure…and disaster!

Tracking the Who What, Why, and Where: A Successful Marketing Strategy

In most instances, a customer walks through the doors, looks around, perhaps even makes a purchase, and leaves without ever being asked their name, how they got there or any relevant contact information.

Cash?

“Thank you very much. Have a nice day!”

Goodbye Forever!

What is the likihood they will ever be back? How can you know if you don’t track it?

One Sale or Many: An Overall, Ongoing Sales and Marketing Strategy…Inbound and Outbound

The most difficult and the most expensive client to acquire is the one is walking through your doors for the first time based on your marketing efforts. Incredibly, and inspite of the cost, this is also the visit we fail to monetize properly. At the very least we should be collecting contact information (i.e., name, phone number, email address, physical address, etc.) so we can market to them again, and again, and again…

…until they buy from you again, and again, and again….

Interestingly, we also fail to market to the clients or customers we have already acquired, our current and past customers. In many instances we can’t market to them because we failed to collect their contact information from them in the beginning, even at the point of sale!

The Value of the Client/Customer List

A business’ client list is the most valuable resource they own; and yet, most businesses fail to engage their past clients on a regular basis through routine follow up and targeted marketing strategies.

This is why it is important to become a student of your business and your competitors’ business, so these opportinities are not missed and every possible resource is fully exploited.

When I say exploited, I mean it is a positive way and not in the negative context. Exploiting clients, past of present, in a negative manner is the shortest route to disaster.

Once you have acquired the relevant information from your clients and prospective clients, it is imperative you understand your market and the marketplace or you will not reach them. Or, if you do reach them, it will not resonnate with them because it is off target.

Becoming a Student of the Marketplace: Understanding the Market and Human Behavior

Ultimately, you must also become a student of human behavior, as mentioned above, and a student of the marketplace. Sadly, many business owners do not.

How could we not?

Particularly if we deal with the public day in and day out?

Market Forces, The Economy, and the Impact on the Overall Sales and Marketing Strategy

Unfortunately, and particularly in this economy, with most businesses large and small simply trying to keep the doors open, many business people feel all of their efforts need to be, must be, directed towards the business itself and not on the advertising and marketing.

Or, the business owner believes he or she must conserve their resources (i.e., money, capital, etc.) in order to make it through, until things “turn around.”

Big mistake!

In fact, in a down economy there is an even greater need for an effective sales and marketing strategy!

However, a businesses marketing must be targeted, it must be trackable, and it must provide a reurn on investment that justifies the expenditure.

Simply throwing image building ads in the local Gazette is not only a waste of resources, it is money that could have been spend on a direct response advertising strategy that is trackable and will work.

If it doesn’t?

You will know it and you can adjust it accordingly.

The days of:

“Biggest Selection and Lowest Prices!”

…are gone!

Unless of course you are a big, dumb company with deep pockets.

Or?

You are independently wealthy.

Many business owners look at the current business climate, and the pressure to market their business effectively, as Catch 22!

If I spend more time and money on the marketing end of the business in order to better understand it, and the forces that drive traffic through the door, in whatever form, I have to take time and money away from the day-to-day running of the business.
If I take time away from the day-to-day running of the business in order to learn the marketing of the business I may not have a business.
However, if I don’t take time away from the day-to-day running of the business to learn how to market it more effectively, I may not have enough business to have a business.
Additionally, I can’t spend money on marketing strategy because money is tight.
However, if I don’t spend money on marketing, people won’t come through the doors.
If people don’t come through the doors, I won’t have enough business to make money.
If I don’t have enough business to make money, I won’t have a business!

A Yossarian-like dilemma:

Entrepreneurial Catch 22!

Ultimately, a decision must be made:

Am I going to sink or swim?

Help is Available: Inbound Marketing and the Brick and Mortar Business

Interestingly, many business people think they are in it alone and that help is either impossible or is out of their price range.

Neither is true!

Many business people, particularly when struggling just to stay afloat get so preoccupied in the struggle, fail to look around for a life preserver.

It is at this moment a decision is crucial:

Do I continue to flounder until I go under or do I ask for help?

It is always interestingly, and more than a little sad, when I experience first hand a business person who would rather drown than ask for help. I would argue that after procrastination, pride and ego, branches of the same tree, are the root cause of almost every business failure.

Help is always available!

The business owner, whether online or offline, has got to come to the realization that:

“I need help to make it because I am going to drown out here on my own. If the business is worth saving, and mine is, I need help. The business is making enough money to keep the doors open, so it is time for help!”

Michael Gerber and The E Myth Revisited

Whether an economy driven crisis or need due to growing pains, the transition Michael Gerber refers to in The E Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It as infancy to adolescence, there comes a time when an entrepreneur, whether a brick and mortar business owner or an Internet marketer or ecommerce business owner, must ask for help.

It is at this crucial point most entrepreneurs, brick and mortar business owners and online business people, turn to a marketing consultant for help.

The point of desperation?

For some, certainly!

In the case of a dying business?

It is precisely the wrong time to take such action, it should have been taken long ago. Yet, it may be the last gasp, the last prayer for a dying business, but it must be done if there is any hope of saving it.

Interestingly, the businesses I do my best work with and for are the businesses who call as soon as they know they have an issue, put their marketing in my hands, and say:

“Fix it!”

Interestingly, every business will go through the same sort of growth experience, growing pains if you will.

One thing is certain, without assistance, most businesses will fold!

Michael Gerber notes that most business people look at the first 5 years as the make or break period, make it through the first 5 and they are home free. In fact, Gerber points out that of the 20% who make it through the first 5 years, that’s right, only 20% make it through the first five, only 20% of those businesses make it through the second five years!

That’s 4 businesses out of 100!

The F…O…U…R that make it…the 4%?

They get help!

The rest go back to whatever they were doing before or worse. Sadly, many can’t go back to what they were doing before and now, broke and disillusioned, have no clear idea what they will do next.

The reality is tragic when considered against the alternate reality.

The alternate reality?

Help is available. The proper marketing strategy could have not only assured the business’ long term survival, it would have contributed to building something meaningful and lasting instead.

Finding help is the topic to be explored in Part III.

For now I will say this:

Caution!

Most Internet marketing gurus and most inbound marketing consultants have little time in the trenches and a lot of time on the benches.

In other words, a significant portion of their careers have been devoted to telling others how to do something they have very little experience doing themselves.

Give me a marketing consultant who has also been a business owner with over 20 or 30 years in the trenches, someone who understands the importance of a target audience, the marketplace, and the forces that drive both and I will show you someone who can add something to your experience.

Significantly, that is also the kind of marketing consultant and business owner who is receptive to strategies offered by others, someone who is always learning.

Interestingly, the average Ultimate Internet Image client has been in business for 24 years!

Two of UII’s clients have been serving Northern Ohio for over 40 years!

One of my clients has an MBA and is a Six Sigma Balck Belt!

It is the wise entrepreneur who knows when to say:

“I need some advice, can you take a look at this for me and see what you can do!”

I have been in sales and marketing, building businesses and helping them grow for more than 35 years. Aside from a short stint in academia, running around the rain forests and tucked away in museum basements doing research, I have been a student of sales and marketing, of building brick and mortar businesses…and now of Internet businesses, as well.

You know?

Many would argue business people with over 40 years of experience would no longer need the assistance of an inbound marketing consultant, or any kind of marketing consultant for that matter. The opposite is true.

The aforementioned businesses have been in business as long as they have because they are receptive to advice and they are responsive to shifts and changes in the marketplace.

In other words, the wise business owner understands they must adapt or perish; and, they also know when to ask for help.

Contact The Ultimate Internet Image (UII) for a comprehensive sales and marketing consultation, to include a competitive analysis.

While primarily an inbound marketing consultancy, UII’s mission is to deliver results in the most efficient and effective manner possible. By applying both outbound and inbound marketing strategies, our focus is on trackable, direct response marketing strategies that work. In other words, marketing strategies yielding the greatest return on investment in the shortest amount of time!

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
440-821-7018 (cell)
216-712-6526 (offce)
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimateinternetimage.com

Be Sociable, Share!

Filed Under: Brick and Mortar Business and Inbound Marketing, Inbound Marketing, Inbound Marketing and Modeling, New Media and Inbound Marketing, Outbound Marketing Inbound Marketing and the Ultimate Internet Image, Ultimate Internet Image, Ultimate Internet Image and Inbound Marketing, Ultimate Internet Image Consulting, Uncategorized, Understanding Outbound Advertising versus Inbound Marketing Tagged With: How to Succeed Using Inbound and Modeling, Inbound Marketing, Inbound Marketing Consulting, Modeling and Inbound Marketing

Brick and Mortar Businesses: A Shift to Inbound, New Marketing

April 7, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Internet Marketing Consulting: Inbound Marketing, New Marketing and the New Media
In Your Eyes: Becoming a Student of the Business Part I

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of interviewing a fine young man for a position I have created at The Ultimate Internet Image, a new inbound marketing consultancy focusing on the new marketing, at times as new media marketing, in Lakewood, Ohio just west of Cleveland.

This young man is a recent graduate of one of the finest small colleges in the Midwest and it was a real pleasure to spend time with him. If this young man is reflective of the caliber of the young men and women in that generation our world will be in good hands.

During our 2 1/2 hours together, we talked about everything from life and success to fear of failure and service.

We also talked about fear of success and getting out of your comfort zone in order to succeed!

I believe fear of success is at root of failure for many. Many people, in all walks of life, simply do not want to stretch, alter their lives (even for the better), and break free of inertia.

As the interview unfolded, and we began to speak more about the business, the nuts and bolts of an inbound marketing consulting business, and of excellence, responsibility, and service, we spoke of helping others get what they want; and, in doing so, guaranteeing our own success, personal and in business.

Then, he asked several very good questions:

“How do you consult for so many different kinds of businesses?”

Answer: By becoming a student the business and the businesses of our client’s competitors, focusing not only on the local economy but how the overall economy shapes and affects traffic, sales, and the bottom line.

In other words, we look at all aspects of the business, their competition, and their target market or audience.

Once accomplished, we develop the ultimate internet image…along with an offline identity. This means combining brand awareness with direct response marketing and relationship building.

Ultimately, we develop an effective, overall marketing strategy, one that incorporates inbound, new media marketing with targeted, quantifiable outbound advertising strategies with one goal:

Increase traffic, leads, prospects, patients, clients, members, sales, and overall profitability.

“What is it you do and how do you do it?”

Answer: See number one and below. Additionally, watch for Part II in this series.

“Don’t you have to know an awful lot about the business you are working with if you are going to effectively serve them?”

Answer: Yes! Not only will we see the business through the eyes of the owner, managers, and employees, we will also see the business, the competition, and the product, service, and/or practice through the eyes of the market, the target audience itself. By the time we are ready to begin developing a marketing strategy, we will know the business as well as anyone in the business (competitors) or interacting with the business (target market).

In other words, we will become students of the business, entrepreneurs by proxy, with one goal:

The Ultimate Internet Image will seek to develop the most effective new marketing strategy possible, online (inbound marketing) and offline (outbound advertising), in order to increase traffic, leads, prospects, patients, clients, members, sales, and overall profitability.

Of course there’s more!

But the questions he asked ceratinly got the ball rolling…it was a good start!

Not only were these smart questions, he was interviewing me at the same time I was interviewing him; and, they were questions I had hoped he would ask.

Smart!

I smiled and thought of a Peter Gabriel concert I had been to years before. The song “In Your Eyes” just popped into my head…that’s how my mind works at times.

Go figure!

In this case, the title would be more like:

“Through their Eyes!”

But what the heck!

After acknowledging the questions and providing a short answer to each, I told him how happy I was he had asked them; and then, I started to explain in greater depth.

“When we take on a client, regardless of the business, we bring to the table over 30 years of experience in sales, marketing, and advertising,” more if you count the experience of everyone on our team.

I continued, “Much of my experience is based on creating and running brick and mortar businesses, from the ground up, often starting from scratch (i.e., on a shoestring budget…if that!).

“Significantly, most businesses share many of the same challenges, many of the same issues; and, this is the case whether we are dealing with a professional practice or a tree service, a tanning salon or a bed and breakfast, a pet store or a pizzeria.

“In each and every instance, one thing is certain…no clients, no business!

“It really comes down to that,” I explained. “No traffic, no leads, no prospective clients, no one through the door, and the doors will close. It is inevitable and it is a universal!”

“Without an effective marketing strategy, without targeted, direct response marketing, without the proper balance of effective outbound advertising and inbound marketing, and without sales, the company will go extinct. So many companies, big and small, are closing their doors every day across the country; and, in fact, around the world, due to lack of traffic.”

He nodded.

I went on to explain how frustrated I had been as a new business owner back in the mid to late 70s and early 80s, just starting out, building my first businesses. The challenges were myriad, much as they are today.

In the late 70s the economy was about to tank and the region of the country I was attempting to build a business in, the Midwest, was being transformed forever…right before my eyes…and not necessarily for the good!

The biggest challenge was in not only needing to know everything about my business…but being required to an advertising expert, as well. I had to deal with marketing my business in the most effective way possible. I could sell, that was a given, “igloos to Eskimos” and all of that. How best to market my business, how to advertise effectively, that was the real challenge!

How?

I stayed awake nights thinking about that word!

Consequently, not being able to track my results effectively because the only thing I knew how to do was mimic other, larger, more “successful” companies, I struggled daily with marketing and advertising. As my business grew, and as I began to network with other business owners, I found I was not alone, that we were all struggling and failing miserably to get the most bang for our buck.

Then, in the late 70s the economy took a nose dive, many local businesses took a nose dive right along with it…permanently! We started hearing about service economies, outsourcing, and The Rust Belt. The steel industry collapsed, the automobile industry gasped, and I built my business.

What else could I do? Failure was not an option!

My business did not collapse, we actually flourished. Significantly, our success was more about what we were offering and how happy our clients were with what we were providing. We had discovered Gary Halbert’s starving market and then fed them a diet of excellence.

The results were amazing!

Ultimately, we survived the recession. Interestingly, some would argue it was as bad as our current one, a matter of perspective and time, I suppose? We made it because our clients referred others to us…and the referrals referred clients to us!

Girard’s law of 250 in action!

We were providing excellence and our clients, the average one having a 250 person sphere of influence, told others.

And so on, and so on, and so on!

Kind of like the hair commercial. Talk about an effective ad campaign!

Unfortunately, or fortunately as it would later turn out, not being a “big dumb company” (read: Dan Kennedy and Frank Kern), I didn’t have an unlimited ad budget. I had limited funds and needed to know that the money I spent was being spent properly; and, that the return was not only trackable but the return on investment (ROI) justified the expenditure.

In other words, I had to become a student of not only advertising but of sales and marketing.

He raised his eyebrows and said, “Sales?”

I smiled again.

“Yes, sales!

“You see, whether you are a physician or a dentist, an accountant or a lawyer, a restaurant owner of a yoga instructor, you are ultimately a salesperson.”

We talked about this for a while. I asked him why so many new professional people and business owners joined the Chamber of Commerce, the Lions, the Jaycees, and other social and business networking organizations. I asked him how a new dentist grew a practice from zero to hundreds, particularly when he or she was new to the community and creating a brand new practice.

Then I asked him how many ads he had seen on television for attorneys lately!

He nodded and smiled.

Funny thing?

I can remember when an attorney would have rather been drawn and quartered than be seen advertising his services. Risking his reputation and perhaps more!

Now?

It is the norm!

“Does that mean they are doing it right?” I asked.

He frowned and then shook his head, “No!”

I smiled again!

“Bingo!”

In fact, most of the time, businesses are still advertising like it is 1964 and the Internet was never invented. Or, they are attempting to throw up a static website and then call it day, mission accomplished.

We know what happened the last time someone proclaimed mission accomplished when there was still work to do…right?

A Static Website?

A business owner might draw some nice pictures on the wall of a cave, perhaps in France or Germany, it might be more effective. Perhaps the media would think it novel and travel to see it. You might even be able to get an art major from the local college to do the drawing for you…outsourcing the development and design! Do a YouTube video!

With tens of thousands to tens, and even hundreds, of millions of web pages fighting for the first ten spots on Google’s page one for a given keyword phrase, does anyone really believe a free, static website will ever be found?

Having someone without a marketing background, and particularly someone without inbound, new marketing (new media marketing) knowledge develop your Internet image?

You might as well save the money, or send it to your favorite charity, it will do the world, and you, a lot more good. At least you can feel good about it and write off the charitable donation. Pay someone to “develop” a static website?

Ugh!

Well, I don’t want to beat this to death!

He nodded again. He was nodding and smiling. You could see all the lights going on, and staying on!

Shouting into the wind!

You see, years ago, before Al Gore invented the Internet and dinosaurs roamed our city streets, people would get the biggest yellow pages advertisement they could afford and then pay through the nose month after month because that was “the place to be.”

Then, you could buy newspaper advertisements, the bigger the better. The ads were either full page, before doing so took the cost of a second mortgage and your first born male child, or at least above the fold and to the right.

Radio has always been an enigma, almost impossible to track and expensive.

Television advertising, and especially a 30 minute block for an infomercial, particularly before Ted Turner changed the world with cable, was out of reach of the “average” small business owner. Television advertising was and remains effective for some, a waste for others, and exceedingly difficult to track for all.

So, back in ‘64, ‘74, even ’84, when you had a big promotion, spending a year’s wages for a weekend of outbound advertising, you did what you could.

You hoped a lot, said a few prayers, and even chanted manic mantras for hours in front of a mirror!

Oh, and don’t forget the rabbits foot!

The old jocks among us would wear the same socks all weekend…or wear their lucky tie! And don’t forget the same underwear!

Yes, jocks are a superstitious breed…as are most entrepreneurs!

Shouting into the wind!

The end result was what I call the “throw enough spaghetti against the wall and some of it will stick” model.

Or, shouting (or perhaps doing other things?) into the wind!

Ultimately, it was not unlike taking hundreds of dollars, putting on a blindfold, spinning around until dizzy, and then throwing a dart at a board full of advertising choices!

You might actually hit something useful every once in a while…maybe! Often? You missed…you hit nothing.

Or you hit the cat and your wife and kids wouldn’t talk to you for a week!

Outbound Advertising!

Outbound advertising or outbound marketing is a form of advertising. Outbound marketing is often viewed negatively, it is often intrusive, and, for most businesses, largely ineffective.

Commercials come on and you change the channel on the radio or you get up and use the restroom before the show comes back on.

As for your yellow pages?

Where is yours?

Most people can’t tell you where it is in their house, if they’ve even brought it in off the porch, because they don’t use it any more…they “Google” what they want!

Yes, the yellow pages can still be a useful tool, particularly as so many flee the phone book for greener pastures, less competition for attention. But you must know how to direct your message, your marketing, accordingly.

Yellow Pages
Newspaper Ads
Radio
Junk Mail
Billboards
Specialty Advertising
Etc.

It is all the same for many, shouting into the wind, unless of course you have the proper direct response, inbound marketing strategy; and, the right consultant to augment and direct it.

Even then, to become an expert, or even just very good at it, takes experience and deep pockets; and, particularly in this economy, most small businesspeople simply do not have a lot of either.

The end result?

You shout into the wind until hoarse, none of the spaghetti sticks or certainly not enough to justify the expenditure, your arms get tired from chucking spaghetti at the wall all day, every day, and then you run out of money.

Eventually, you ask for help or close your doors. Often ego, pride, or something else gets in the way, the owner waits too long, and by the time they ask for help it is too late.

All that’s left are the formalities.

“Is it that bad?” He asked.

“It is that bad!” I answered.

The real tragedy is that none of it has to happen. There is help available and it is cost effective…but they have to ask! Or, they at least need to be receptive enough to listen when someone approaches them and offers assistance.

“Heck! We offer a free consultation and competitive analysis. Do you realize how much can be learned in an hour or two? Think about how much we have covered here today!”

“Ah!” Back to sales!” He said and smiled.

I told you, this young man was sharp.

“Yes, and the biggest issue is that people are sales resistant, they just don’t want to be ‘sold’ anything!”

“So, how do you reach them?” he asked.

“Consistency and an unconventional approach! And, we don’t SELL anything…ever!

“We offer a service. We offer to serve once we know we can be of assistance, not before! We don’t even talk price until we know everything there is to know about the prospective client’s business, their competition, and their audience. If we can help and if we feel the client is a good match, meaning someone we can work with long term, then we talk.

“Never before!

“Interestingly, while people do not want to be sold anything, they usually don’t mind a suggestion, an offer of assistance, just as long as they don’t feel obligated.

Reciprocity

Reciprocity is a powerful force and many people just don’t want to be indebted to us or anyone else! Even when we offer something free, people will often refuse. It is an interesting reaction but it is another cultural universal, reciprocity.

“In fact, the most difficult sale to make is the initial consultation…and it’s free!

“For some people anyway.”

“For others?” He asked.

“Well, for some, as stated, you simply cannot give ‘stuff’ away, they are too far gone or defensive to be open and receptive to our message, or any message, and that’s fine.

“Ultimately, we can only help those who want help and they will only ask for our help once they know, like, and trust us.“

Know, Like, and Trust!

“In other words, we never sell anything…ever?” He restated rather than asking.

“Correct! We offer our services and through service we succeed too. Our company is an inbound marketing consultancy and it is solely about excellence. The sales will take care of themselves, ours and our clients’. Success and service are inextricably linked!”

As Zig Ziglar put it years ago, and others have said it in different ways since, and I am paraphrasing:

To get what we want we help others get what they want…first, last, always!

So, he said, “Success comes from helping others get what they want.”

“Yup, that’s it!” I agreed.

“Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.” Zig Ziglar

Success is constant and never ending improvement, CANI! Tony Robbins.

Success is based on action, selfless action in all things.

“If we seek only to serve, we will be more successful than you can imagine, now as we begin down this path together.

“Additionally, the journey we take is a journey of discovery, a challenging experience that will touch people in ways you can’t conceive of right now…but it’s coming…and it’s amazing!

“Ultimately, we serve others and their success is our success. If we do not help our clients succeed, we will fail right along with them, period!” I said.

In summing up this blog post, part one of two, the last point in the interview was this:

This is the foundation upon which this business is built…we take on a scared trust when we take on an inbound marketing consulting client.

I take on a scared trust when I take on an employee.

In both instances, in the case of the client and in that of the employee, they have said to me, to our company, The Ultimate Internet Image, I am putting my life in your hands. I am not only putting my financial life in your hands, I am placing the fate of my business in your hands. I am also placing the lives of my family, my spouse and my children, in your hands.

I think I know you.

I like you.

I am going to trust you with my life and I will trust you with the well being of those I cherish most, my family.

I take this charge very seriously!

It is humbling and the responsibility can be a lot to handle…but everyone that works for The Ultimate Internet Image will understand, must understand, what we are doing and the incredible responsibility we have, the sacred trust we hold.

After all, we are responsible for another individual’s life! In every respect, we owe them our best, we owe them excellence, and we owe them our undying gratitude for being allowed to serve!

It is through service we grow, it is through challenging others to do the same we become trusted…we become trusted friends. Once again, it is a sacred trust!

Marketing is now about a lot more than just the yodeling
[or shouting into the wind].
It’s about the entire package.
What you say as much as how you say it.
New marketing is our future. (pg. viii)
~ Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin

Character is the ultimate reflection of who you are,
more-so than reputation!
Character is who you actually are!
Reputation is only what other people say about you!
~ John Wooden

For more information about inbound marketing [new marketing – new media marketing] and The Ultimate Internet Image, call any time. I will always answer my phone or call you back as soon as I am able.

Note: We do not pick up the phone while with a client, ever! That is their time, as it will be for you…should you call or email us for more information.

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
The Ultimate Internet Image
CEO & Director of Marketing
440-821-7018
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimateinternetimage.com
excellencepaidforward@gmail.com (personal email address)

Be Sociable, Share!