Wednesday I listened to a webinar given by John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing called “How to Win the Local Search Game”. It was a wonderful information packed session as usual but before I talk about that, a little more praise of John.

I thoroughly enjoy the knowledge John shares  on the web and in his books  Maybe it’s because what he says always make so much sense.  Or maybe it’s because our philosophies follow along the same lines. I realized that when I read his book,  The Referral Engine. I honestly believe that this book should be a must read for anyone in marketing, old or new.  Referral networking is by no means new,  but John has managed to put it into words that everyone can understand.  And it doesn’t come from a year or two of experience but many years of experience. He’s not an overnight “expert”.  (Sorry John, don’t mean to make you sound old, just experienced) Most everything he as written is common sense but it’s amazing how many people don’t put it into use.  John does a wonderful job explaining it and even makes it sound easy.  But it doesn’t mean that an old dog can’t learn new tricks. ((BTW, I’m the old dog here, not John)

We put so much effort now into Social Media  Marketing (Twitter, Facebook etc.)  that sometimes we forget that referrals start with building relationships.   Quantity can be good, but quality beats it every time. At least  I think so.  I don’t believe because someone has the most number of followers that it means they’re going to make the most money. And because someone follows me doesn’t mean I’m going to refer them to someone I know.  I love giving referrals to my clients and friends and of course I love receiving them. It’s kind of like that pat on the back that we all want.  That only comes with building relationships.

However, that relationship has to start somewhere.  Sometimes it isn’t a referral. Most people like working in their own backyard, so to speak. That means local businesses. That’s what John talked about  Wednesday during his webinar . Finding those locals we want to do business with and them finding us for the same reason.  In the past we used  telephone directories to look up companies or as a business owner paid for a directory ad. At least, that’s where we went if no one could give us a personal referral.  Ever do any cold calling for your business? I’m sure it wasn’t your favorite thing to do., but it was a necessary evil  (still is in some cases)  The internet has given us so many new marketing methods with the ability to drill down and make it as local as we want. The choices are many, which is what John’s webinar was about.

Local Search is Where It’s At

If you having a hard time believing that statement John posted some stats that are pretty impressive. It has to make you stop and think…at least it did me.

• 90% of online commercial searches result in offline bricks and mortar purchases (comScore)

• 82% of local searches follow-up offline via an in-store visit or phone call or purchase (TMP/comScore)

• 74% of internet users perform local searches (Kelsey Group)
• 61% of local searches result in purchases (TMP/comScore)
• 54% of American have substituted the internet and local search for phone books (comScore)
• 35% of all searches are local  (DM News)

Read the rest of this entry »

Does Size Really Matter?

Bigger or Better (Are They Mutually Exclusive?)

Is it better to have more regardless of quality or is smaller better if it is higher quality?  Wow, even I had a hard time following that. That’s my question.  Been thinking about this lots lately. (I know, it would seem I have too much time on my hands) Read the rest of this entry »

The Changing Face of Networking

I keep hearing networking has changed, it’s not the same as it was in the “old” days. But has it really? Fifty years ago (before my time) it was about making contacts and developing relationships. Isn’t the relationship still the main purpose?  You might say to get the business is the main goal but to do that effectively you still should be building relationships. Those relationships help us gain referrals as well as making new friends.  Sounds pretty simple, huh? Some of the groups or methods may have changed but the concept is the same.  Our goal is to meet people (online or in person), build a relationship, exchange referrals, win the business etc. Read the rest of this entry »

Just as you would not walk into a Chamber meeting (well, I hope you wouldn’t) and stand there and just starting spouting your marketing speil to people you don’t know and who have not asked, you don’t want to do the same thing on Social Media sites. Networking is and always has been about developing relationships.