Guaranteed Failure? Being Invisible Online

What noble and practical idea almost guarantees that you will fail to launch your Local Marketing business before competitors get the premium clients?

Would you sell glasses of champagne from a card table next to the road with a cardboard sign?

Are you aware that “Field of Dreams” is a FICTIONAL movie?

“If YOU build it, they will come” is an idea that sounds noble, practical and affordable, but in almost every case, it will guarantee that you will fail altogether or miss the best opportunities.

Why? Here are the top 3 reasons:

1. If you are paying any attention at all to the pace of change in Local Marketing and Social Media, taking 3 to 6 months to learn how to set up WordPress sites, how to do basic facebook page graphics and add apps, creating a brand for your business, writing the basic copy for what you offer and having a professional look and feel on your site, order forms and customer need surveys costs you 3 to 6 months in sales! And by then, things have changed and you need to upgrade your skills again!

2. The work that commands premium fees from local clients – getting them high visibility in Local Search and creating Mobile Apps does not involve the skills mentioned above! BUT, charging premium fees when you don’t have a professional looking site is very much like selling champagne from a folding table with a cardboard sign…

3. Thinking that you can learn how to do it all yourself on a level that creates a highly professional look and clear offerings of services that exceeds or matches your potential Local Clients is focusing your skill building on tasks that top Local Marketers outsource – it doesn’t pay well and it changes too fast.

So what can you do that’s smart, affordable and greatly increases your chances for getting your Local Business marketing agency going?

My “handicap” can give you an edge! A few years ago I moved my kids and myself to a beautiful, safe, but really isolated logistically community with more coyotes in the 5 square mile “town” than potential local clients for me. I have an MBA and do marketing consulting for entrepreneurs, inventors, authors, scientist with inventions and learning about how to do SEO, Local Optimization, site building were skills that make sense for me on a larger scale as an “expert” and gives me the ability to evaluate service providers for my clients who keep me on retainer and do troubleshooting.

I’ve built a solid, Google Panda friendly (organic SEO) turn-key “network” that can be branded and customized for your Local Marketing business.

This can be purchased as ala carte services to fill in gaps for you or your local clients and I’m going to offer a limited number of packages that can be optimized and branded for you in a couple of weeks instead of months.

I don’t put pricing online for these – but I will offer a free consultation to talk about your marketplace, your branding and what package and sequence will give you the best image and professional look so you can focus on selling premium services instead of tinkering around and getting frustrated.

These packages include some strategy consulting, professional graphic design, copy writing, customized forms that can be printed or emailed and follow-up coaching so you know how to use the site and materials and get your own search results and local marketing up and running safely and quickly. (No black hat, no gimmicks)

Since the foundational material is solid and needs to be adjusted for services, branding and graphics, there are situations where I can take a down payment and monthly payments for the full package. I’ve been a local entrepreneur for over 20 yrs and specialized marketing consultant for 10 yrs so I know both sides of the game and can help you help your clients!

So we have a baseline idea about pricing – down payment on full package is $500 with an additional $250 per month until it’s paid for – 3 months to 6 months – yes… about the amount of time you’d be nobly struggling to build it yourself. Price will vary depending on how much branding you have and how many channels you select to use and how much customization to match your services offered.

THIS website is NOT the local marketing site – it is simpler and directly geared from marketing to local businesses. Links and samples of forms will be provided to people who are considering the purchase.

Interested? Email me directly and we’ll discuss what’s next.

About the author

Kathryn Booth Trainor

I have owned and operated two service companies which merged into one, still in business after almost 20 years. The company was sold and I began writing and consulting while I completed my MBA at Oklahoma State University in 2006 with emphasis on Marketing and Project Management. My special expertise is in helping people evaluate entrepreneurial ventures, formulate business and marketing plans and structure their companies to be both lucrative and fulfilling. In addition, I have some techniques for transition planning and project management that I use to help clients move from one phase of operations to the next level. Because of the breadth of my business knowledge, combined with writing and marketing skills, I can quickly and effectively create an online footprint with website, mobile app, social media channels and search engine optimization that gets found fast. In web and print advertising, having just the right words and communicating each company's unique flavor and capabilities make the most impact. Specialties:Entrepreneurial experience with service companies and micro-businesses, Marketing and promotional materials, Business plans, Strategic Plans, Trusted Advisor