I don’t want to say “lying”… but pretty darn close.
Marketing agencies have a long history of lying to their clients. I mean decades long. Going all the way back to the early 1900’s!
Back then, it was called, “keeping your name before the public” and “brand advertising.”
This was how marketers convinced their clients to keep paying them large sums of money…even when there were ZERO results to show for it!
ZERO sales. ZERO profits. ZERO accountability.
Rather than being held accountable, or just producing results in the first place, most marketers would rather lie. Or make excuses. Or blame.
If your marketing agency avoids your questions, or gives you the runaround, when asking about BOTTOM LINE RESULTS, run!!! Fast.
Here are some of the warning signs your marketing agency is deceiving you…
Warning Sign #1.
When you ask about phone calls, but your marketing agency starts talking about…
- Keywords
- Website ranking
- Website visitors
- Click-through rates
- Cost per click
- Facebook followers
Yes, I know! To the untrained ear this all SOUNDS good. But if it’s not generating PHONE CALLS from high-quality customers, it’s worthless.
Like my Pastor always says, a half-truth is a whole lie!
You get paid when a customer calls your phone. Period.
If your marketing agency talks about any of the above items when you ask about PHONE CALLS, be afraid. Be very afraid.
Warning Sign #2.
When you ask about phone calls, they talk about “content.”
Content is basically writing articles and blog posts for your website. If you write, publish, and optimize enough content, it can help your website rank higher in Google. And the higher you rank in Google, the more people will visit your website.
Sounds pretty good, right?
But there’s one big problem with this strategy: articles and blog posts about appliance repair attract the wrong kind of visitors…
The only people reading articles and blog posts about appliance repair are trying to fix their own appliances, not hire you!
True! You are getting more traffic. And your website is ranking higher. But if those visitors are DIYers, you might as well flush your marketing dollars down the toilet, because they’re not going to turn into customers.
If you ask your marketing agency about phone calls, and they start talking about content, run!
Warning Sign #3.
When you tell your marketing agency their leads aren’t turning into appointments, and they say, “Not our problem, we just generate the calls. Booking the appointments is your job!”
I agree, booking appointments is the client’s job. But if there’s no way to measure the quality of the leads coming in, how can you hold the marketing agency accountable?
Again, phone calls happen “offline.” Most marketing agencies, don’t want to dirty their digital hands with messy offline stuff. But they also don’t want to be held accountable for the crap calls they’re sending you!
They want you to believe that a call is a call, is a call.
That if they make your phone ring, then they’re doing their job. Period.
But, you know that’s not true.
Not every call is the same.
For example…
- Would you rather have a Sub Zero refrigerator or Kenmore dryer call?
- 10-year old microwave or Wolf freezer?
- Warranty or COD call?
- One zip code versus another can be worlds apart
But marketing agencies that don’t specialize in appliance repair, don’t know the difference. They don’t know the difference between warranty and COD. Or that some appliance brands are more profitable than others.
Confession: I Used to Be One of Those Marketers!
Early in my career, I worked with dozens of different clients from dozens of different industries.
I figured marketing was marketing. If I could get results in one industry, surely I could results in another.
And SOMETIMES I did.
But in some markets I really struggled to deliver results. So much of marketing is about knowing your customer. And customers are different from industry to industry. Very different.
I remember one such client like it was yesterday. I wasn’t familiar with her market. I didn’t know her customer.
I tried everything I knew to get her results, and nothing was pulling. I used her entire budget and had no leads or sales to show for it.
I couldn’t sleep that night. The next morning I had to tell her the money was gone. Wasted. Nada. I had failed her.
This wasn’t a huge company with an unlimited marketing budget. It was a small, struggling mom & pop. I felt like she trusted me with her grocery money and now her kids were gonna starve.
It probably wasn’t that bad, but I took it personally. When I let somebody down I feel it in my bones.
After that difficult conversation I vowed to never let that happen again. I became obsessed with figuring out how 100% of my clients could be successful. I was determined to find ONE niche that I could DOMINATE instead of being a “Jack of All Trades” but Master of None.
And that’s how Appliance Repair Marketing was born.
If you’re tired of working with Jack of All Trades marketing agencies, give us a call.
At ARM, we’ve worked exclusively with appliance repair companies since 2011. This year alone we’re going to generate over 175,000 appliance repair calls for our clients.
We know your industry. We know your customer. And we know how to help you make more money and put more trucks on the road.
If you’re interested in learning more about our program, call our office and find out if your territory is still available. We only work with one appliance repair company per territory so space is limited.
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