Interview with the Founder, The Marketing Shop – Tracy Gibb

“I think most potential clients have become more savvy. They have a greater awareness of what is happening behind the scenes.”

1. Tell us about your role at The Marketing Shop and how you got here?
I am the Founder and CEO of The Marketing Shop, a boutique marketing company that specializes in done-for-you marketing services for small businesses. I grew up in a family that owned a business, so it feels like entrepreneurship runs in my veins. When I went to college I knew I wanted to major in some type of business, but as I took different classes I fell in love with marketing. I remember a professor telling us that most small businesses will fail, not because they do not have a good idea, but because they do not know how to market it. It was in that moment I knew I wanted to help make people’s dreams come true by providing services that would help them to grow their business.

2. What is it that you found lacking in the Marketing technology environment that pushed you to start a company of your own?
While I think marketing technology is so powerful, I have built my business using email, social media, and automation, I think people also need to use the tried and true business strategies such as getting people on your list and following up with them. With all of the automation I use, I still have a team of people who reach out to my customers and potential customers as they join my email list.

I also think that so many of us (and I am guilty of this myself) are always looking for the next big thing to grow our business, that we do not spend enough time focused on seeing each thing through to the fullest extent. I think that is why my programs are so popular. Most of my clients have tried to set up marketing funnels, but got bored or frustrated before finishing. Those who have marketing funnels in place were not patient enough to test and track metrics to make it work successfully. There are other client who set up a great content marketing program and then get tired of writing content or they grow their social media channels and then life gets in the way and they do not post anything for months.

The key is consistency in any aspect of marketing and I think that can be difficult for most business owners. We are constantly chasing after the next big thing or putting out fires. I know my own marketing would not be consistent if I did not have a team doing it for me.

3. How is the martech industry different from when you first started?
I think most potential clients have become more savvy. They have a greater awareness of what is happening behind the scenes, which is why it is even more important to view them as an actual person instead of a random email on your list or a like on Facebook. As the personal aspect has faded, I believe personalizing your approach to client engagement becomes the one thing that makes you stand out.

4. Given the changing dynamic of marketing analytics and customer insights, where do you see Company name fitting in the ecosystem?
I am a metrics driven person, so I love tracking everything I possibly can. I feel that a combination of tracking metrics and reaching out to customers personally will enable any company to provide value to their target audience. We already do that for ourselves and for our clients and it has worked to build relationships and  generate sales.

5. How do you differentiate The Marketing Shop from the competition?
When you are working with me and The Marketing Shop, your business is my business. I honestly feel that way about every single client I work with. Even though I am no longer directing the day-to-day management of our programs, I am working closely with the managers to ensure we are overdelivering and our clients are happy with their programs.

6. What changes are you majorly concentrating on to enhance and plug-in a more actionable customer interaction and communication model?
I am all about the marketing funnel as a base for communication. A great marketing funnel will allow you to track which emails people open. I will also show you what they are clicking. This will allow you to automatically only show them the content they are interested in. Doing this will easily provide so much value.

I also feel that fun, interactive opportunities such as surveys or quizzes gives them an opportunity to interact with your business while also giving you insight as to the services and products you can offer to them.

7. What tools would recommend to CEOs and CMOs as a Sales Hack in 2018?
I personally love Infusionsoft.  This tool has been the single most important hack that has helped me grow my business by allowing me to track and implement campaigns based upon what individual people want instead. This is so much more effective than just sending blanket email blasts to every single person on my email list and praying maybe someone would buy.

8. What do you think are the new standards of tech integrations? How do you manage the dire data complexities that come along with tech integrations?
I think successful tech integrations still need to have the feeling of connecting with an actual person. This so powerful because we can use these integrations to reach so many people at once and offer tremendous value, but it cannot feel like technology. The human element needs to be present and I feel that this becoming even important as we employ tech integrations in new and different ways.

9. Elaborate on your best digital transformation campaign. How did you measure the performance among your audience?
Currently, my best digital transformation campaign is an overall marketing campaign, which is really the skeleton of all of my campaigns. My marketing funnel first offers a free lead magnet, which leads to a small sale to gauge the interest of the incoming lead. From there, we offer an upsell to a higher end offer. We may also have several other upsells that are offered after the initial upsell. This is to expose our audience to the range of services we offer. We then drive Facebook traffic to the first landing page and track how many views per opt-ins. This process is repeated for every aspect of the marketing funnel to determine where traffic is falling off. Is it a landing page issue? Is the email copy unappealing? From there we modify everything until you have a funnel that not only offers value but also generates revenue. If you are offering great products or services to the right audience, then you can find that sweet spot without much work.

10. What book are you currently reading?
I am constantly reading. Recently I read Profit First and loved it. I highly recommend that book to any entrepreneur. This book has changed how I look at my entire business.

11. One piece of advice you always follow irrespective of circumstances
I believe in always offering value to my clients and potential clients. I give away so much free stuff and free resources. In doing so, building the client relationship  through giving value upfront has made a world of difference. Once someone decides to invest in a program or service with me, there is already an established trust and rapport.