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Sunday, April 03, 2011



A number of months ago I was consulting for a company that had a number of search engine optimization related needs.  With an extremely negative online reputation, this company needed help managing their top ten search results.  In not time at all, we had their search results filled with home grown micro-sites, blogs, and other digital assets.  Even though the reputation was now "clean" the company said, "we can't see any difference in our revenues" and discontinued our arrangement.

The reality is that they company was not very effective at measuring results and couldn't measure the effectiveness of our transformation.  And that got me thinking.  Even if my company were to do all the right things... set expectations, deliver results, and drive revenue for our clients, they could still decide to break off the engagement.  That's not a great position to be in.  So it hit me.  Instead of being the store, I wanted to be the mall.  

The Benefits of a Mall

When you're offering services, it's all on you.  And there's nothing preventing customers from bringing in a return or saying they're unhappy with a product or service you've already provided.  However, when you're the shopping mall, stores are paying you for space and you're no longer in the business of dealing with customers directly.  Of course this doesn't completely free you of all responsibility.  In fact, you want businesses to be successful so they can keep paying your rent.  But if one business fails there's usually another one to take its place.

This is where my recent thinking has brought me.  I decided to convert my latest consulting endeavor, UpwardSEO: SEO Experts, and transform it from a site where users could contract with my business for consulting opportunities, into a marketplace for SEO providers and companies looking for search engine optimization services to come together.  By so doing, I've become the mall and no longer have the challenges associated with the traditional consulting relationship.

The Changing Landscape

Don't get me wrong.  I know that owning the mall has other "issues" and I'm not free of providing value or supporting customers.  However, what I can say is that I won't go through hundreds of hours of consulting for someone to say, "I don't think it's working" or "I'm not sure if we're seeing results from number one rankings."  



Maybe I'm just easily frustrated by whimsical customers or individuals who are not as effective as they should be at managing their online assets.  Regardless, I think there's something to supporting multiple vendors and providing value in the form of an audience that needs their services.

How about you?  Would you rather be the store of the shopping mall?

22 comments :

Jason McDonald said...

I think you are confusing metrics / measurement with being all things to all people.

I think establishing metrics BEFORE the project starts would be more helpful. A "mall" of SEOers is already there - SEO experts or some such thing. No one really uses it. It's a catch 22 - the users don't know they need it, until or if they already have an SEO guy.

Business Plan said...

Marketing is simply a means to an end. Marketing is the process a company/business goes through to promote themselves and their products to consumers. It can be accomplished in multiple ways and can come in many forms, however, the main goal of marketing remains the same; to convince consumers to buy your products rather than those of your competitor.

Unknown said...

Yes search engine ranking is the right decision for any business owners in this age. Many companies are shifted email marketing to search engine marketing. Still few companies depend on email marketing and mailing lists because of instant result.

Yes if we use proper mailing list vendor for marketing campaign. We can expect instant good result with proper leads flow. eSalesData is the one site who provides email list for email marketing campaign.

Unknown said...

Interesting post. I have been working with a company like that as well, but I gave them a document before I started telling them what to expect.

All too often I think business owners want "instant results" and don't understand it takes time.

Consulting is a tough business because - most of the time - the biggest problem is the business owner themselves!

John

search engine marketing melbourne said...

it's all on you. And there's nothing preventing customers from bringing in a return or saying they're unhappy with a product or service you've already provided.I am impressed. I like this site. Even better, you are using comment luv.

Kristina Jefries said...

I'm a mall. I love hands on and I love dealing with customers. However as I venture down life's path, I am discovering that although I enjoy one on one customer service, maybe being the provider of multiple services that others provide would be a better fit. I can handle the administrative and paperwork stuff and others can do the one on one.

Joel said...

While I like the idea of what you're saying - divesting risk, you've also completely changed the value proposition. Why would SEM providers list with your site? What are you offering them? Does your reputation as a consultant seemlessly transfer over to be a third party facilitator?

Azhar Shaikh said...

Hi Michael,
I am an internet marketer and I have recently started my own business. I have created few sites and blogs but that is not enough for me. I want more work to do online. I am planning to work as a freelancer. So do you have any idea about where can I find work online and how can I convince them
Your reply is very important for me
thanks and keep blogging!

Something Sublime said...

Interesting post.... I am impressed. I like this site. Even better, you are using comment luv.

jennilia said...

The services provided by you in terms of SEO
are highly valuable.

tea clipper said...

Hi Michael been doing the basics of optimization like the usual stuff, but there seems to be no progress in this..am tired at some point coz clients wants to see the stuff demanding a 20 backlinks a day...how do you say to something like this...@John--what type of document..how d you deal with them..its frustrating at some point..thanks for the reply..and now being a Mall of some sort...

Justin Brown said...

Internet marketing is more popular and over half of Internet users use this procedure to enhance their business.

necklace said...

SEO has become so competitive. I ranked an accountants website on page one of Google for a few high traffic search term. It didn't really make much difference because even on page one competition is fierce (if you take Google Places, Adwords and organic rankings into account, a busy SERP page can have over 20 websites competing for traffic - and thats on page number 1!

annie said...

hi michael,
Am working in a seo compnay as a Team leader so having burden of each and evry thing whether it is of marketing or any other thing . I have to take care of all the things . my work is relted to marketing and managment. Dear m agree with you with the marketting concept. your artice is good and intersting too as it is my field.yeah it is with me also sometimes i got frustrated with some customers but. can u tell me that how can i handle those customers and what to do in those conditions and how can i do marketing in those situation plz. help me dear i think you have a very clear picture in your mind.

annie said...

nice blog. thanks for this blog sharing.

internet marketing said...

hi,

good post. I like this.

drupal website developer said...

I too agree that Internet marketing is the only technique to earn money easily.So i appreciate for your great work on posting these valuable information.

Kelsey said...

This is a very interesting perspective on SEO. I appreciate a good comparison.. especially one involving a mall. I can see benefits in being on either side.. store or mall.. the store offers personal..consumer oriented experiences but can be challenging when you aren't giving them the results they expect and your profits are suffering if you don't have customers. For the mall you have control of which stores you feature, but you have to deal with all the crime issues and finances as well!

Anonymous said...

Marketing services at a mall is a good place to do so. If you can gain the attention a shopper and show them the service personally you are more likely to sell them that service. The food court at our mall gives out free samples to try and get you to chose that restaurant for lunch. Having a service at a mall I feel would help to market to more customers than having a offsite store.

Victor Radhose said...

I think you're not telling us the whole truth.
I hear you have great background and expertise but you not longer want to deal with clients who disapoint you. So you try differrent approach.
I hope it would work for you but i don't see what this "be the mall" discovery is all about...

Vancouver Internet Marketing said...

Very nice blog. thanks for this blog sharing.

Austin SEO said...

We offer the same services and we have had the same types of clients. Most of what you described most online companies don't understand this is fixable! it is time more and more of them understand and begin to work on their online management.

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