Adam Bianco

Here's a few client norms I've implemented to keep clients for 3+ years as a marketing agency 👇 Goes beyond the obvious...results & value add. Long term relationships require deep trust, consistency & evolution. Some mantras I try & live by: - Never mention other clients; unless it's helpful to their cause (i.e. oh my client could help w/ this project OR we should do a co-branded webinar w/ my other client). My goal is each client believes they are my only & most important client. This is very important. Every agency has smaller & larger clients; it should not be obvious who's who. - Never set a deadline you can't hit. Milestones change. Due dates flex; but don't ever set a arbitrary deadline (i.e. I'll have this to you by Thurs) you won't beat. I also aim to respond same day to emails / Slacks. - Go meet them IRL. Remote is easy; but it's not in depth. Go to a conference or to their HQ. Spend time with them. Get to know something about them. - Make it easy on them. Agencies love processes & workflows. Often; a client already has their own workflow. Adding YOUR workflow to their world doesn't always solve a problem. Be flexible when you can be flexible. If they like texting; is it that big a deal to text? It's just a diff app on your phone. - Set recurring / standing meetings. You need time with clients. They need to see you / your team, both for work + relationship building. Keep these meetings unless you absolutely have to cancel. - Be honest. Enough said. - Apologize when you mess up. It happens; marketing & life is not perfect. Trying to weasel your way out of it or assign blame is lame; just own it...say you're sorry & move on. - Go above scope when required to meet goals or be a good partner. Scopes of work are important. It defines a relationship. But going above scope to meet goals equals trust. Sometimes means margin gets cut a bit; that's okay; it's not about one month; it's about the value you bring & keeping a relationship for years. - Champion your clients. Become an outside sales rep, extra set of eyes, engage with their content, repost their posts, etc. Add value & good things happen & leaders recognize the effort. - Keep things organized (this is work in progress); but we now use 1 Google Doc as a project hub for all client work, agendas, notes, etc. No one wants to hunt for docs; make it easy to find information. What practices do you implement in your service business to retain clients?

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People often ask about difference b/t agencies & our fractional team models: Here's a few key differences: 1) We work with partners across various verticals vs having 1 in-house team. This allows for vertical expertise (i.e. service biz get a Google Ad person with home service expertise, while a cannabis dispensary gets a Google Ad person w/ cannabis experience). This allows for flexible bandwidth as well (i.e. we don't just have 1 internal Google Ad person who could become overwhelmed). We work with plumbers, dispensaries, multi-unit franchisees, HVAC companies, B2B cannabis groups, SaaS tools, THC bevs, etc & each team looks different than the other. 2) We're flexible on scoping & projects. For example; we just closed a deal where client needed small support hours for Shopify, HubSpot, cold email, strategy, etc & we were able to pinpoint a specific level of service / support that not only met their needs but their budget. This can scale up or down very easily. 3) We work with a lot of the best agencies because sometimes they are the best fit. For example; we just hired Sandra Bergman, CLMP™for a consulting project for a dispensary client. This is because she fit their needs. We can bring a lenses of not only knowing all the good agencies but knowing WHEN to recommend one + get the added benefit of rolling her services into other deliverables (SEO + website) vs just working with her on a stand alone basis. 4) We embed; we don't just deliver. A fixed scope with clear deliverables is important; but there is a gap. Many small businesses need an ever-changing set of things, from design, to minor website edits, to async comms on global strategy; etc. And we try & bake in some grace for these items to allow for the variance & unknown that comes each month. This is done by sharing a Slack or Basecamp project together. We can work real-time on things as they arise. 5) We are business owners also. No offense, but many agency owners are agency owners only. Being able to bring experiences to our clients from owning multiple businesses can help provide a powerful POV to the conversation. I truly believe our model is a great hedge against hiring a generalist FTE for your org. For 50-75K a year; we can bring a lot of evolving resources to the table.

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Came across a post from Event Associates that nails what most brands are missing right now: It’s not about showing up anymore. It’s about creating experiences people actually remember. They break down how Brand Activation is changing the game locally, and honestly… it’s spot on. If you’re planning trade shows, corporate events, or activations this year, give this a read. Check it out: https://lnkd.in/gseS2kJX

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Local marketing is keeping us perpetually on our toes. Gathered some good reads below, but would also love to hear thoughts on what’s next and what’s changing. I think radius tightening is one that is a silent lead and ranking reducer, and crept up on all of us. There’s a new focus on reviews coming too, in my opinion. Obviously always a factor but AIs tendency to draw from reviews outside of Google (Yelp, Angi) are going to mean diligence on any platform where people can share their opinions. (Reviews AND review responses matter!) And frequency is as important as quantity. Are you receiving reviews on a constant basis? Word of mouth is evolving into its own channel at this point. A bigger mystety to solve comes down to psychology. Engagement. We know profile engagement supports rankings, so how do we learn what drives someone to click. To your website, to call, to schedule. And in local marketers pursuit of GBP success it can sometimes be forgotten that your website completes the pictue. People are searching in question form. Evolutions from voice search as well as younger generations need for easy answers. Does your website (and GBPs) answer questions or create them? FAQs never stopped being important. They just changed in depth and specificity. The beauty is if you’re using anything that helps you understand the questions people are asking, technology has made that easy. (Call transcripts, web form content, etc.) Most of all, don’t forget to pay attention to your own search habits. What makes you click a GBP? Go to a website? How do you ask your search questions versus ten years ago? Marketing is going to keep changing while also staying the same. It’s easier to keep up with that in mind. https://lnkd.in/gHPa5J4U https://lnkd.in/grwc7syu https://lnkd.in/gApqJjAE #localmarketing #rambles #marketers

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Let your loyalty program rise and shine Question: What would January be without the hope for a refreshed loyalty program? Answer: December with an increase in new member signups (soon to be zombies) and a rush on redemptions (financials look scary). (I am sure there are many more answers, however I’ll stick with those) It’s about this time of year when those brands with a loyalty program reflect on the past with hopes for it to rise up in the future. Past realities (in no priority – not exhaustive): 🤔 Stale program proposition (it’s not been tweaked, reviewed or revamped for some time, redemption is sliding – (Redemption is Retention) and the proposition has been all about the money, you forgot the 8 other currencies members care about) 🤯 Hooray (not) for vanity metrics (so many new members and members spend more than non-members….aaaaagh) Carly Neubauer 🫠 Member experience leaves a COLO (cost of lost opportunity) James McIntyre (CCXP) 🤫 Program profit is thin (if known at all) 😒 Team is tired – especially customer facing in retail (love for the program has been lost and they are not asking at POS “are you a member?”) 😎 Technology not fit-for-purpose (that old chestnut) Hopes for the future (now in a hurry – not exhaustive) ☀️ Shine up the program proposition (look for levers from the brand promise, the changing and cluttered landscape, member experience expectations and more Joyalty* Moments of Magic (J*MoMs)…please!) 📊 Define and align on metrics that matter (I have five to focus on – which are in the full article, link in the comments) 🗓️ Build out a three-year robust and dynamic financial model (add some rigour to the incremental revenue less the costs) 🤼 Revitalise team belief and buy-in (see 5 x E process in Team Zone of full article) ✅ Validate if your technology is fit-for-future (or sweat the assets you have) If any of the past realities punch you in the face (sponsored by Mike Tyson’s – “Everyone has a plan ’til they get punched in the mouth”) or if the hopes for the future light your flame of fortune, then consider a review of your loyalty program. As you light the flame of loyalty program fortune in 2026, have a look at our Wheel of Loyalty Program Fortune© and the seven zones of loyalty program performance, giving you the zones (and a few prompts) to consider in the full article - Link in the comments. #loyaltyprograms

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Most SEOs think audits = nerdy deliverables. The real money is in recovery + positioning. My audits always answer 2 questions first: - “Why did this site lose traffic?” - “What will make money fastest?” Then I give actionable, strategic advice with easy to follow reasoning and implementation. Clients don’t care about “half a dozen 404 pages.” They care about “here’s how you claw back $200K ARR in 3 months.” That’s why my audits sell for $2.5K–$21.5K...

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Now these are real results! 📈 To see the full breakdown of how we set bold goals, turned scrolls into clicks, moments into bookings, and built a social presence as bright as the Minneapolis skyline, read the case study on our blog: https://loom.ly/conYwzM #WhiteBoxMarketing #MarketingStrategy #MarquetteHotel

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