Online Marketing Doesn't Work
for Me!

June 2012

I attended a networking event last night here in Montreal. I met an accountant, we'll call him John, who worked for one of the more prestigious corporate accounting firms in the city.

Online marketing doesn't work for me. I have tried it with no success. All of my business comes from referrals. You see John, like many professionals, has an established client list and gets all of his new business through word-of-mouth.

About 90% of John's clients are in their 40's or older so they too are well established and connected in their business. John enjoys the enviable marketing position as being part of the "old boy's club".

Since John gets all of his new business through referrals, how can online marketing provide him with any real value?

Here is a fact.

Not one of John's friends in his network can communicate what value John provides to a client better than John himself. So how can John get in front of a referred potential client quickly with his message?

Here are a few suggestions for John.

One idea is to produce a short video (under 3 minutes) where John can provide information that provides value to his audience without trying to sell his services. He could speak about a common situation his clients experience and how it can be solved. The call to action can be to phone him for additional information, visit his blog or his website.

John should create a YouTube account, YouTube channel and upload his video making sure the video is optimized.

Next he can create a QR Code and have that printed on the back of his business card. The QR Code will direct his audience to the video message.

This way when someone from John's "old boy's club" refers John, they can pass on his business card to a new prospect who in turn can watch the video for themselves. With a referral and John's value packed message, contacting John will be irresistible.

On a final note, John can produce an ongoing series of value-packed videos and upload them to his YouTube channel. He can create a dynamic QR Code on his business card that will direct the audience to his latest message. His call to action could be to subscribe to his channel and view his other videos.

This is a great way to turbocharge John's referral process, differentiate himself from his competition and create a loyal following.

Do you get most of your business from referrals? Maybe its time to use video and online marketing to turbocharge your referral process.

Hang in there, this is going to be a journey.