This morning a client messaged me about their struggling business.
It was my fault we weren’t generating enough calls.
The team was making the #1 classic mistake of digital marketing agencies.
After apologizing to the client, I told the team this.
Remember that with every client, the first place we start is where they are making money.
Know what is the system they use to measure how much money they get.
Then move up the funnel to lead generation– then further up to where we drive traffic.
The trap of amateur digital marketers is to mindlessly check boxes (which doesn’t necessarily mean real business results are happening) or to focus on a particular tool (video editing, blog posting, etc).
In other words, to avoid the #1 mistake of digital marketing practitioners, we must start with the strategy, which is GCT (goals, content, targeting).
Each specialist could be doing a great job in pumping out X videos a month, generating Y views, and driving Z clicks.
But if the phone isn’t ringing– and those turning into sales as measured in the client’s operating software, it doesn’t matter.
The MAA (metrics, analysis, action) technique we teach makes it instantly clear where the issue is– like an x-ray that spots where the broken bone is.
We do MAA always– not just daily, but all the time in everything we do– so we know what’s working.
Why do you think most digital marketers focus just on their tool, instead of starting first with where the client is collecting the money? Now, do you know the barrier to successful digital marketing?
Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is the CEO of Local Service Spotlight, a platform that amplifies the reputations of contractors and local service businesses using the Content Factory process. He is a former search engine engineer who has spent a billion dollars on Google and Facebook ads for Nike, Quiznos, Ashley Furniture, Red Bull, State Farm, and other brands.
Dennis has achieved 25% of his goal of creating a million digital marketing jobs by partnering with universities, professional organizations, and agencies. Through Local Service Spotlight, he teaches the Dollar a Day strategy and Content Factory training to help local service businesses enhance their existing local reputation and make the phone ring.
Dennis coaches young adult agency owners serving plumbers, AC technicians, landscapers, roofers, electricians, and believes there should be a standard in measuring local marketing efforts, much like doctors and plumbers must be certified.