I gave him my honest assessment of the company, and I will tell you what I told him:
There does not seem to be much "meat" to what they do.They talk about how there are billions of searches online, how there are so many people looking for a local business and how local businesses need to be online.
They are correct, of course, but they don't really have a superior way of getting their customers placed well on Google.
Whether or not AdzZoo is a viable idea the small and medium sized business owner is getting undeserved-again!
Who is to blame for this ongoing lack of quality Internet marketing strategies being implemented for the small business owner?
Many people, but here are few reasons why...
1-It is difficult to build a SEO service & PPC management company that is profitable and therefore worthwhile. Sure, there are other reasons to build a business, but at the end of the day we have to eat and take care of our kids.
Most legitimate SEO companies and PPC experts that are making an impact on the marketplace and are profitable start at over $2,000 for initial optimization and over $500/month for ongoing link building and content building-and that's a minimum with additional work required from a web developer and a content writer.
Most small and medium sized local businesses would take no more than about $2,000-$4,000 in total investment with me over a 6 month period for me to get them to the top of Google for their search terms. That is; if they already have a website that I can build upon and if they came to me. Honestly-I have a handful of customers that I spend 3-4 hours a month on their websites for them so that they will stay at the top of Google in the organic results on Google, Yahoo! and MSN.They are happy and they earn a great profit from their investment in me. (I should ask for more money!)
The problem is I have to spend a lot of time marketing and selling to these types of prospects in order to grow at a reasonable pace, which is going to cost me 2-3 times that in my time or in hiring, training and paying a quality salesperson.
Many of these small business owners will choke on spending 2-3 times that amount-even if it probably is worth it. In fact-even the $2-$4,000 it may take just for the first 6 months of optimization can feel steep for an SMB. That is why the $100-$600 a month programs offered by Dex Media, Verizon, Yellow Book, LocalAdLink and Adzzoo seem so attractive to them. However, in most cases a comprehensive SEM program with an honest expert is likely to generate many more leads and be well worth the extra investment it takes initially. In the long run it is much less expensive-especially when you factor in the opportunity costs.
2-It is difficult for the legitimate SEM expert to reach these small business owners.
Many of the small and medium sized business owners have been burned by really bad Internet marketing strategies. Not just by small companies but by experienced sales reps working for large corporations who did not know (and some did and do not care) how much they were overselling what they had to offer.
3-We sound like broken records. Every “Internet Marketing Consultant” has a great story (true or not) they have been trained by their company to tell prospects and customers. All of the stories sound the same: “Google this, Yahoo! That, MSN Bing! that, Twitter, Facebook blah, blah blah!”
Who do they believe?
The first guy, the last guy or the best story teller?
4-The large, MLM and VC funded companies do not have to make a profit right away, but they need something simple for their hundreds or thousands of salespeople to sell. So they end up selling sub-par, over priced and hyped up products or services that work in certain situations, but do not work for everyone. The large companies with an actual track record sell Internet marketing as an “add-on” product (like the yellow pages), the MLMs brainwash everyone and the VCs throw money at salespeople and train them to tell a compelling (true or not) story.
5-It takes a sophisticated salesperson or consultant to develop and sell the right Internet marketing program at the right time for the right business-especially when selling against the well trained "story tellers".
For example: This is how a sales cycle should go for selling SEO & PPC (or “SEM”)
- Comprehensive needs analysis where the sales consultant discovers what exactly are the needs of the business and to uncover opportunities that the business owner did not know existed. They also need to understand how Internet marketing will fit with the businesses' other business development and marketing efforts.
- Take the time to educate the decision makers.
- Comprehensive keyword analysis.
- A website analysis.
- Comprehensive Competitive analysis.
- Intelligent and strategic recommendation for:
The correctly scaled website.
The correctly scaled SEO strategy.
The correct PPC recommendation.
The correct tracking program. - Communicate to the implementation team the correct strategy, reporting and follow up.
6-How does the sophisticated salesperson or consultant spend their time? (besides blogging?)
Reaching out to the large customers who need to spend 5, 6 or 7 figures on their Internet Marketing strategies. This is the most efficient way for us to spend our time.
7-Who is going to look out for the little guy?
I am trying. There are a lot of others out there trying, but all of the above is getting in the way.
This is why most small businesses are sold the wrong Internet marketing solution at the wrong time for the wrong amount of money.
It’s a jungle out there.
If you need a guide call me, Dan Stratford (720-985-7945) or contact me by commenting here.
Good luck!
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