Why most agencies don't actually help the geospatial market

Hey Map Maker,

Today, I had an interesting meeting that reminded me of a simple truth:

Listen before pitching.

I met with a potential client to talk about their LinkedIn marketing.

They had some agencies do this for them before, but not quite successful.

We started talking about content, but I sensed their need was different.

We identified a need for a clearer strategy before doing any branding.

Now, the next meeting is about building their website.

Because we need the foundations right first.

The issue is: they have multiple products for multiple target audiences.

Yet everyone is sent to the same landing page with one niche testimonial.

So potential clients must do the thinking:

"How does this product make sense to me?"

And they usually aren't there for long enough to do so.

So this does not do their business the justice it deserves.

Though they do have great clients, testimonials, and a solid product.

But their website hardly shows it (and it was a little bit outdated).

So the biggest bottleneck right now was not content or ads.

And, they were already doing outbound.

The issue is the fact they have to clarify their strategy & offerings.

Otherwise, they can't leverage content about results they delivered.

So I found no point in pitching what we initially booked the meeting over:

Content.

They don't know which product or target audience they want to focus on.

> Branding does not really matter much.
> Customer journey cannot be replicated.
> Retargeting only works when destination pages are right.

For reference, you can imagine:

A car dealer may not care for the things housing corporations deem selling points.

(And the other way around..)

Pages won't convert when scoped toward audiences with different goals.

Even if their platform offers exactly what both the audiences need, it "must make sense".

So content or ads would not have helped these potential clients now.

And I could hardly have known if I did not dig into the current situation.

Listening helps identify what about a product really matters to someone.

Highlighting those points then drives clarity on the path we take them on:

That's why I explained why we needed to tackle their website first.

For our marketing agency in geospatial & location intelligence, this is key.

We could just blandly pitch the same retainers as every other agency,

But instead - we identify why the previous 6 marketers did not deliver.

Ironically, it's often as those marketers just weren't familiar in this market.

Meaning, they just do not understand the problems (and that these agencies don't even have their own customer profile right).

That being said, it's good for us:

It helps us tailor our offerings to the stage the client or product is on.

But even if your offer is not customized, listen well before you pitch.

You may just find the one thing your leads actually need to hear.