Welcome to 2019
It’s 2019 and marketing practices are forever changing. New companies are popping up sometimes weekly claiming to be marketing companies. These very same companies are made up of people who were working in retail, call centers or some other job. They are given a script told what to tell people and sent on their way to prey on small businesses.
We get phone calls each week at our marketing agency about these kinds of companies. They call us and tell us all the horror stories about how a company took them for their money. It’s never a happy ending. However, they did it because the price was right. Who doesn’t want to get a good deal? However, the problem is you get what you pay for if you don’t spend real money, you won’t get real service.
Marketing is not easy; it takes strategy, time and effort. No one who keeps jumping from company to company switching titles and scripts will ever do your company an excellent service. 95% of all people who call you claiming to work in marketing are just sales reps working on commission. They don’t get paid unless they convince you to give them a credit card. So they’ll say just about anything to sell you a bad bill of goods because that’s how they make a commission.
How to avoid companies like this.
The first step to avoiding companies that are running scams is to ask for a portfolio. Ask about the history of the company, do research verify their information don’t just believe what comes out of their mouth. We typically take the service that the customer is looking at and pull up some real results from clients of ours. Then we show them a little marker we leave at the bottom of the websites that say designed or marketed by Creative Digital Group. After all, you’re looking for validation are you not?
You are not alone
Two weeks ago my attorney called me to his office to hear a pitch from another company claiming to provide a marketing service that no one has ever heard of. This company claimed that they could put ads on your cell phone and your iPad just for you being next to a company. They claimed they didn’t need anyone’s permission, didn’t require you to look at their website they didn’t need you to be on any platform or have an app open. Someone would be driving down the street in a specific area, and this ad would pop up on the phone and get these people to call you. Sounds fantastic, that’s why people keep trying to buy it. However, the truth is there are HIPAA laws privacy laws and all sorts of laws that prohibit illegal activity like that.
When I began to question the man he became very uneasy. He asked me who I was and how I knew so much. When I explain to him that I own a marketing company that provides real marketing services he quickly ended his pitch said he sees what’s going on here and left.
Email Marketing Scam
Another crazy form of the same type of scam comes via email. You get a blank template which has your name, and it says they scanned your website and found tons of opportunities that you’re missing out on. They claim to be marketing experts and claim they can help fix all of your site ranking issues and get you to the top of the search engines overnight. Truth is they never even looked at your website; they send this email to hundreds of thousands of people hoping to get a handful of people to believe it. However, it’s all lies. A real marketing company will provide you with analysis and facts, not scams.
Marketing Conclusion
So next time we get one of those emails, make sure you mark it as spam. Next time you go on his phone calls, tell them you’re not interested and seek out a real marketing company like Creative Digital Group that knows what they are doing. There are real secrets to marketing; it’s called experience and longevity. If you’re talking to someone who hasn’t been around long, they don’t have either.
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If you need help with your website marketing or web design, give us a call (702) 448-1888