Where Did Everyone Go

I was visiting the other day with a prospective client, whom I had known for several years. As we were catching up, and naturally talking about marketing, he asked me, “Where’d everybody go?”

I answered, “What do you mean?”

He then began to share with me that it seemed that responses to his marketing had seemed to be dwindling over the past few months. He went to different list vendors, “updated” his lists, but leads were fading. “Sounds like Autumn” I said, trying to be jovial. Then he got serious. “Randall, I’m worried…what with “The economy” and all, I’m looking at tough times.”

What a great queue that was. I began to explain the economies of scale based upon the differences between his OUTBOUND marketing strategies, and the INBOUND marketing strategies we have been recommending and implementing.

Forrester Research recently made some interesting remarks based upon their surveys, which were echoed on BlogSpot.com. The bottom line is that buyers are online. I asked, “When you begin looking for B2B offerings, where do you go? When you’re looking for bargains on buying a car, where do you go? Do you grab a newspaper or magazine? What do you do?

Naturally, his response was “The web”.

Inbound marketing just makes more sense. Companies, who purchased lists and blasted eMail all over the place, have been blocked. Think about it...BLOCKED… That means forever. No wonder responses slide. “No wonder creating the sale and the brand isn’t working”. And, forget about printing and mailing 25,000. What happens then? Do you sit around and wait for the phone? What is the purpose? Do the salespeople follow-up, and try to set appointments? What is the return on that? What is the expense of that?

“We have a website, Randall. Why don’t people go there anymore?” I believe the reason to be that if you own a business, and are not creating reasons for people to go to your website, they won’t go. It’s that simple. Depending upon type of B2B, the website is more than likely, a brochure. Social Content Marketing and Blogging reach those who are interested in the information you have. “Content is King” still reigns supreme.

We talked for hours, but the bottom line was this.

Buyers want a reason to visit your website. By sharing information with them…by presenting information to them in the manner in which they want information will drive them to your website. Social communities (CPA’s, CFO’s, knitters, basket weavers and companies wishing to move business to another country), have either formed communities or are associated with communities of like interest. Whatever your business…you need to restructure your marketing programs. If you’re not LinkedIn, Twitter’d, Flikr’d, Fast Pitched, you are close to invisible to your new market. Get there…you’re late…get busy and create your new marketing strategies. Or, contact us: info@whitemountainmktng.com.
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