Allie Bloyd: Marketing Is Not an Expense
Too many business owners treat marketing like a slot machine. Step up, run a Facebook ad, no whammy, no whammy, and wait for leads to pump in without ever touching the copy, the creative or the offer.
I had made a rule by the time I recorded this in 2019: I was done trying to convince clients that digital marketing is the future. So I opened Episode 81 of The Purpose Chasers by pretending to be a brick and mortar owner who believes marketing is an expense, and I asked Allie Bloyd to talk me out of it.
Good Marketing Is Never Just an Expense
Allie works with local businesses and was president of her local BNI group, so she sees 35 to 40 owners every week. She has heard every version of the objection: marketing is too expensive, word of mouth is the only marketing we will ever need, do good work and the business will come.
"Good marketing will never be just an expense. However, bad marketing can really suck the money out of you."
That is the difference. An owner who marketed badly is twice removed: they lost the money and the opportunity. An owner who never marketed only lost the opportunity. The fix is not to stop. It is to only do marketing that is measured.
"A good marketer or a good agency should only be focusing on ROI. I don't care about getting leads for my clients. All I care about is helping my clients achieve a return on investment."
The Question Most Owners Never Ask
I stopped Allie here, because this is the biggest pain point I have with the industry. Most businesses do not know their numbers even though they think they do. An agency says we generated this many leads this month. The owner never asks the next question: how many of them converted to a sale, and what was the return on the marketing we spent? Then do the math and find out whether the marketing is scalable.
Allie also pushes back on how short sighted owners are about the timeline.
"ROI doesn't have to be achieved on a weekly basis. This is really something that should be done in about a 90 day cycle. Ultimately, depending on the length of your buying cycle, it could be even longer than that."
Her clients usually see a return quickly, but only because of one decision made before any ad runs.
"We had to design an offer around making that happen first."
Design the Offer, Then Prove It
An offer that converts and a number you can track are the 2 things that turn marketing from an expense into an investment. The third thing is proof. In a higher ticket business the buyer does their due diligence before they commit, and nothing shortens that due diligence like a past customer explaining what happened on video. That is why the Social Proof System sits underneath every campaign I run: the testimonials are what make the offer believable and the ROI repeatable.
What a Measured Investment Sounds Like
Bud Heaton talks about spotting the small opportunities most owners overlook: where leads come from, communication, the sales process and the systems behind it. His phrase for it:
"Get the water to the end of the road, so to speak."
Dr. Carolyn Colleen wanted to clean up her visibility online and did not know where to start. Now her funnels are connected and the right people are finding her. Her summary:
"No fluff, just targeted SEO."
More real stories on the Happy Check client results page.
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On The Purpose Chasers I sit down with people who are building something that matters. In my business, The Happy Check, I help coaches, creators and service businesses turn that same kind of real story into video testimonials and content that bring in clients.
If you want to take your marketing to the next level, book an organic marketing audit call with me.
Or start with the free Happy Check book and learn who to ask, when to ask and how to use what they say.
Keep reading: fire your marketing company in 5 steps, why The Happy Check is not another marketing system.
