The world of target marketing has evolved more rapidly than perhaps any other technology space. It encompasses everything marketers do and have an eye towards doing in the future. Middle market and small business find themselves at a distinct disadvantage given the virtually unlimited resources larger competitors have. So how can they compete?

Many have attempted to target through Google ad words and software solutions like HubSpot. But there are distinct challenges with both. With Google ad-words, you enter a David vs. Goliath situation. Competing for the click-thru traffic requires resources and larger companies will always win that battle. You simply cannot outspend the big players and frankly, why would you want to? If you think about the situational dynamic ad-words create, it simply does not make fiscal sense. Here is the process by which people find you through Google:

1. The prospect must decide to use Google.
2. The prospect must type in one of the words you are paying for.
3. You must rank high organically or outbid everyone for the top spot.
4. Once presented with a dozen options, the prospect must click your link.
5. If they click your link, they must be so compelled to do business with you they do not return to the list and look at other options. (Not a small feat given they likely used Google specifically to look at multiple options)

In each of these steps, the prospect has to take all of the right actions. They must follow a very specific trail of crumbs to get to you and then be so compelled to do business with you, they stop looking at all of the other options.

Sound legit?

Now let’s look at content aggregators like HubSpot. They offer phenomenal back end analysis. They tell you everything you need to know about the flow of traffic, the interest levels of each piece of content you put out and they will even offer suggestions as to how to improve the results. Sounds great!  One problem; they don’t create the content. You do. Your company does. If you are already creating content, using an aggregator or “automated marketing” tool makes little sense. Instead, build your own. It’s far less expensive and you will never be beholden (at least financially) to anyone else for disseminating your content.

After all, it makes little sense to give these automated marketing companies the SEO credit for your content.

So what is the solution? Simple- Do two things differently.

1. Be proactive- We have better access to more granular level data than ever before. Harness it. Don’t wait for customers to come to you- Get to them first! Building a list of people most likely to want and need your products/services is more cost effective than ever before. Ready, aim, fire not Ready, fire, aim! Buying Google ad-words is akin to placing an online billboard and hoping the right people stumble by it. Today’s consumers and buyers simply do not respond to that type of marketing anymore. Be aggressive and be relevant. There is no better way than discovering those most likely to do business with you and then putting a very relevant offer/message in front of them. That’s how you win. Be there first and be relevant.
2. Own your customer outreach- Content aggregators and marketing automation companies have some real advantages. But the disadvantages don’t make them a smart investment. There are hundreds of very inexpensive reporting tools that offer the same insights and they don’t come at the cost of losing control.By owning your own path to prospects, you keep yourself nimble and maintain the ability to slice and dice messaging in real time. Relevancy is king and automation is a hindrance to seizing the “right now” opportunities presented by a reactionary consumer.

Get them to react… To you!

Article written by: Jason Wood