After meeting the owner of an IT company at a networking event, he asked us to meet with his marketing manager. He wanted us to explain the Social Media Marketing and website design services we offered.
When we met his marketing person, it was almost immediately apparent that he was not going to be interested in anything we had to offer.
The website was not easily viewable on mobile devices and didn’t well explain what the company was offering. We suggested a Responsive website with a content makeover that would help potential customers understand what the company was offering. The marketing person did not believe that people would look at the website on mobile devices and didn’t think an update was necessary. 
- One-half of all local searches are done on mobile devices. Over 200 million tablets were sold in 2013. (Huffington Post)
When we mentioned adding a Facebook page, our traditional marketer told us that Facebook was too dangerous –he was very concerned about privacy issues. He mentioned that he would not let his daughter join Facebook and could not understand why people would want anything to do with it. Besides, he believed that their customers were not on Facebook anyway.
- Facebook has over 1 billion members. 85% of users say Social Networks help them decide what to purchase. (Social Media Today)
Finally, we suggested a blog in order to explain the many technical services offered in order to make potential customers understand what the company could do for them, and help rank higher on search engines. Once again, the marketer was not interested, and did not believe we could adequately write about his company. He was not convinced that people were looking for their company on Search Engines.
- 67% increase in leads for B2B companies that blog vs. those that don’t. (HubSpot)
The traditional marketing manager believed that he understood the company and how marketing should be done. He explained to us that his strategy was to meet potential customers face-to-face. He would attend as many networking events as possible. They were going to join several Chambers of Commerce and he would concentrate on relationship marketing. He had also been in contact with a representative from the Yellow Pages, and would put the company in the online version, which should be a sufficient online presence.
At first, we felt that we had wasted our time. However, upon further reflection, we learned something very important. Not everyone is on board with inbound marketing strategies. It is human nature to resist change, and to want to do things the way they have always been done. Many people are suspicious of Social Media. They listen to the negatives, don’t understand how it works, and don’t care.
The bottom line is that if this traditional marketer has the time to attend the meetings and networking events needed to deliver enough business to make the owner happy, he will probably not change. However, we can’t help but wonder how much more successful this company would be if it augmented the skills of the traditional marketer with a strong inbound marketing campaign.