While at a real, actual off line, face – to – face networking event (yes apparently people still do that) I listened to a great presentation given by a local marketing aficionado named Michael Willmann of WMSH. In that presentation he gave the audience a few good tips on how to create a marketing plan, spot opportunities and measure how successful your campaign is. During a networking opportunity following the presentation, a representative from another local marketing firm immediately approached me and pitched me the wonders of their “unique” direct sales campaign. At the time, I was looking for marketing help, but of the two firms represented, why on earth would I use the one who didn’t give me an hour worth of free and valuable information? Why would I invest critical dollars into a company that I don’t even know, when I spent the past hour growing comfortable with their competitor in the same room?
The point is, while giving free content online is critical to a business’s success, providing free content offline may be even more important. This is where people get to see you and your business – actual atoms – not bits and bytes on a page. You get to make an impression. The way you present your content is no longer up for interpretation, it becomes as boring or exciting as you, the presenter makes it! And on top of that, you get to see your audience’s feedback, immediately; right then and there. And you get to engage in instantaneous dialogue about your product or service.
I’m not saying that this is perfect for every business out there, but for a small solar panel installation company, giving a presentation on the “Ten Ways to Reduce your Business’ Energy Bill”, sure did generate a lot of leads.
I would love to hear your thoughts.
