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)