I have three coaching packages for CEOs: ceoReboot™, The End Series, and mCAMELz™. In two of those coaching programs, we hit marketing hard because many CEOs either don’t get marketing or are misguided by misinformation from small agencies promising them the world if only they employ their social media tactics.
While this brief discussion is entitled Unconventional Marketing Practices, my advice will be very conventional, not to mention understandable and actionable.
The Primary Advice Given to Healthcare Providers
I will not call out the firm that publishes this document, but any reader who opts into their email list will receive their lead generation playbook. My expectations were low, and after reading the document, I was right in my pre-judgment of their advice. Here are the topics they hit in their document:
- website traffic
- social media networks
- blogging
- email marketing
- directories and review sites
- click advertising
Go back and reread each bullet item. What do you notice?
In my coaching with CEOs in the abovementioned programs, I teach the G3Marketing Matrix. Half the matrix dileneates offline from online activities. Most small and mid-sized agencies focus entirely on online activities. There is a reason for that, but that’s a conversation for another day. The travesty is that these firms ignore offline activities, which are sometimes far more effective and require less guesswork. Alternatively, offline marketing strategies can be easier to create and pull off. The cost can be far lower.
While the download provided by the marketer above is geared toward healthcare providers, my hunch is that this is the conventional advice across all industries.
Unconventional Marketing That Should be the Norm
Think offline. Think about outbound activities to pair with offline marketing strategies.
A perfect example of this is referral marketing. In ceoReboot™, I teach R2Marketing™, short for reverse referral marketing. This marketing approach involves looking for ways to refer customers/clients to other service providers. My coaching clients quickly learn how this brings prospects their way. In the service industry, referrals is the most effective way to gain clients/customers. Again, this is an offline activity.
My favorite offline marketing story involves the email marketing machine Constant Contact. Early on, they were growing frustrated with their online-focused marketing activities. Luckily, they stumbled on the idea of giving short talks at Chamber events nationwide. In return, the local chamber got a free subscription. The rest is history as sales began to soar at Constant Contact.
Offline marketing activities work. Online is sexy, and hundreds of firms are supposedly experts at delivering online solutions. Tell them you want offline activities that will deliver. Please pay them a commission for the success they provide. Yeah, I know. That’s unconventional.
My Favorite Marketing Story
David Ogilvy is one of the most successful ad professionals ever. He may be the only ad man to make it on the David Letterman show.
One of my favorite chapters in Ogilvy on Advertising is How to Get Clients. He states how he created a list of the clients he most wanted. At the time, that list included:
- General Foods
- Lever Brothers
- Bristol Myers
- Campbell Soup Company
- Shell
- American Express
- Sears Roebuck
- IBM
- Morgan Guaranty
- Merrill Lynch
He got one or two clients out of that impressive list, right? Maybe three? Guess again.
It took time, but in due course I got them all.David Ogilvy – Ogilvy on Advertising
Let’s step back and review the facts. Ogilvy & Mather was one of the top ad agencies in the 1960s in a highly competitive industry. Marketing should have come easy for this firm, right? Not so fast. David Ogilvy needed ideas and advice. That list he created stemmed from his conversation with a well-known consultant.
My marketing critics now say, “Mark, this is a selling activity.” Perhaps, but the grey area between marketing and sales is blurry, especially in small businesses.
Once again, we have another story of offline activities that work.
The Big Marketing Takeaway
There’s only one takeaway I want you to think about. Offline marketing activities are just as crucial as online activities. I will never say one is more important or better than the other. Business is a theory. Marketing is theory-based. We have to test our theories to learn what is accurate and impactful. In some cases, offline activities will trump online tactics. Or, both may be needed.
Also, when interviewing marketing agencies, consider their skills beyond online activities. You want a firm that thinks holistically and wants to try the best methods to improve your top line.
100% of every business I’ve ever worked with has needed a massive marketing reboot. The G3Marketing Matrix is a great starting point to start challenging the past incompetencies of agencies who don’t understand the much bigger picture of the business.