Whether you are a Law Firm seeking more cases, a Roofer looking for more new jobs, or a Wellness Center seeking more booked appointments, you simply cannot hide from digital marketing.
Why? Because ideal new clients that don’t already know about your business are likely doing their research online. If you don’t show up on their mobile phones or laptops, the clients you want won’t even know you exist.
It’s impossible to predict WHEN exactly your ideal new client will be searching for the services you provide. So the best way to “show up” at the “right time” is to master your digital footprint early and quality check and maintain your online presence often.
Handle your foundational marketing before you feel DESPERATE for new clients. Getting to a place where potential clients find you easily and reach out consistently is imperative. Once you have a full calendar and consistent bookings, you can make savvy business decisions with confidence.
Time is money. Constant stress about where your next client will come from is overwhelming. The distraction alone can eat up hours of your workday, affecting your ability to take care of the clients you already have. When your mind isn’t focused on the business at hand, inefficiencies kick in. Proper business marketing is the key to feeling secure in the future of your company.
So, if the need for digital marketing is so clear in the modern business world, why are so many businesses struggling with it?
Based on hundreds of conversations our team has had with local businesses; it appears that marketing has become too complicated for many business operators.
There are a couple of clear reasons for this.
- As an owner, it can seem “budget friendly” to handle your own marketing, but the truth is there is a steep learning curve to figuring out your website, social media, and showing up in a Google search.
- Once an owner decides they don’t have time to master the ins and outs of DIY digital marketing, how do they outsource effectively? Will the first (or cheapest) marketing agency or website builder they find be a good partner? As many frustrated business owners have already learned, hiring the wrong marketer is an expensive mistake.

So, how does a business owner KNOW what to do?
One of the first signs that you’ve hired the wrong person to help with your marketing is when YOU still have to “handle” the time-consuming “stuff” you hired them to take off your plate. Business owners that find themselves doing quality control behind the marketer they hired wind up wasting the time they were paying to save.
Too many law firms, landscapers, and other local business owners WASTE good money on BAD MARKETING that doesn’t work.
So, let’s uncomplicate it.
Whether your marketing budget is $100 a month or $10,000, it should be bringing in more than that in new business revenue. Regardless of the cost, if your business isn’t growing, you are paying too much.
Let’s start with the basic truth. No matter what marketing channels you use (Digital Advertising, Managed SEO, Social, Traditional print), responsiveness is the key to business growth. When you are lucky enough to get the attention of the potential clients you want, the only way to turn them into paying clients is responding to inbound requests. The “Leads” that come in from your marketing efforts must be pounced on.
This is your responsibility as the business operator. Respond to potential clients and turn them into paying clients.
The job of marketing is to bring in these leads quickly and efficiently so that you can connect with each prospective client within a matter of minutes. Not days – minutes. Again, your job as a business operator is converting prospects into paying clients. If you are getting leads and ignoring them, or letting them sit for hours or days, then you are handing business to your competition. Let any lead sit long enough and they’ll get the response they want from one of your competitors. Your prospects are becoming someone else’s paying clients.
Now that we are clear on your responsibilities, let’s talk about what marketing is supposed to do for you: GET YOU LEADS.
Simple fact – It doesn’t matter how many people fill out a lead form if the information they give isn’t getting to the right person at your business right away. Someone capable needs to be able to respond to lead form submissions and inquiries in near “real time”.
One surefire way to know if your marketing is working is the effectiveness of your notification system.
- Do you receive notifications immediately every time that someone fills out a lead form on your website?
- Is someone knowledgeable able to quickly respond to those notifications?
If so, then you have your marketing set up correctly for success. If not, let’s talk about how to fix it.
What is the best format for receiving notifications? This depends on you. Best practice is to have your business email set up on your mobile phone so that you receive a lock screen notification whenever a new “lead” email comes in. However, backing that up with SMS/Text notifications tends to be more user friendly for many business operators. This allows them to more quickly respond even when they are busy working with other clients. If you use a website platform that includes a mobile app, such as WIX, then the app may be able to send your phone lock screen notifications as well.
What doesn’t work? If you need to be sitting at your computer and logged into the backend of a website to “check and see” if you’ve received any new leads, this is a marketing failure. Inefficient systems like this mean new leads get overlooked and likely sit for days, if not weeks. By the time a response can be sent, most prospects will already be working with your competition.
Potential new clients should be reaching out to you directly and regularly via:
- Your website
- Your Social Accounts (which should link to your website and may come through as website leads)
If not, you are missing out on valuable opportunities to grow your client list. Your digital marketing should be driving ideal new clients to your “virtual” front door, 24 hours a day.
Try this simple audit. Start here:
Open the browser on your mobile phone in “private” or “incognito” mode – search for a few of the core services your business provides followed by “near me” (Not the name of your business; but the services that a potential client would do a Google search for).
Does your business show up near the top of search results? Or do your competitors consistently show up before you?

Once your business DOES show up:
- IF it’s via Google Maps and your Google Business Profile – Is your Google Business Profile complete and does it provide a listing of your services, a direct link to your website, positive reviews and quick links to connect directly with your business?
- IF your website shows up before your Google Business Profile – Is it quick and easy for a website visitor to click to call your business directly, see that you are “in their neighborhood” or request an appointment? And if so – What happens when they complete any of those calls to action? Does it get to you immediately so that you can respond and earn their business?
Are your current marketing efforts getting you to the top of Google search results? Is it easy for your ideal clients to find and contact you?
If not, don’t panic. It’s all about Search Engine Optimization and SEO is not that scary! This is where “content” comes into play.
Put yourself into the shoes of your ideal new client (one that doesn’t already know that you exist). Imagine what that person is going to ask when they start trying to find the services they need. Whether it’s “slip and fall attorney near me” or “fix leaking roof” or “non-surgical facelift” – this is where the power of SEO comes in.
The content that you have on your website must include the detail that a potential client is likely to search for. And that detail must be optimized for search engines, such as Google to find.
As an example, if you are a personal injury attorney, who specializes in “slip and fall” cases, but you don’t have “slip and fall” language within your optimized website content, then your business may not be found by someone who only searches for “slip and fall attorney” vs. “personal injury”.
If you are a roofer, who also specializes in storm damage, including siding replacement, but you don’t have the words, “storm damage” and “siding” utilized in a search engine friendly manner, then you are likely to miss out on a prospective client who searched for “storm damaged siding repair near me”.
Proper management of your business for search engine optimization means managing website content, managing your Google Business Profile, managing your social media accounts and keeping it all connected. Plus, as the final icing on the cake, managing your Digital Advertising in a competitive marketplace.
Digital Marketing for your business really is not that complicated. To successfully uncomplicate it for your business, first determine:
- What areas of marketing are within my own skillset to manage?
- Do I have time available to manually complete all of the items needed to successfully manage my business’ online presence?
Once you’ve answered the above, you need to make sure you cover:
- A complete, monitored Google Business Profile and Google Maps placement.
- A Content Rich Website that details all of the services you want potential clients to know you provide.
- Optimization of the relevant content details that will bring new clients to your website, including affiliations, certifications, client testimonials, and information about your team to provide a welcoming experience and a feeling of trust.
- Social Profiles connected to your website.
Each of the four items above must be covered. These are not areas to skimp.
There is a ton of information online to help you do-it-yourself. When you have the time to complete all four items listed above and make sure each is well-managed for quality control, DIY marketing can be extremely effective. But if your time is limited, the next step might be finding the correct marketing agency, team, or individual to partner with. The right partner will provide a quick and consistent return on your marketing investment. You’ll see a steady stream of new “leads” that you can turn into paying clients, while still taking great care of your existing clients.
Time is Money
At Lead Science, we don’t judge a great business for prioritizing their existing clients, and we understand that time is money. While you may not have the bandwidth to monitor and analyze whether your marketing efforts are providing a return on investment, it’s what our team at Lead Science is passionate about.
There’s a science to digital marketing and our solutions team would love to help. Our custom platform attracts the people you want and helps convert them into quality leads you can turn into paying clients. Do you have 5-10 minutes?