We spend a lot of time talking about marketing tactics. SEO, social media, Google Ads, email campaigns, websites, networking and advertising all have a place in a good marketing plan.

But there is something that can make every one of those things work better: build relationships with people before you try to sell them something.

At Wild Iris Marketing, some of the most valuable “marketing” we do doesn’t look much like marketing at all. We teach free classes for chambers of commerce and other business and community groups. We volunteer at community events. We donate services and other items to silent auctions. We help nonprofits at no cost or at a reduced rate when we can. We serve on committees and boards, answer questions, make introductions and recommend other local businesses.

Sometimes those activities lead to business for Wild Iris Marketing. Many times they don’t. And that’s okay.

We aren’t teaching a free class because we’ve calculated how many people in the room need a new website. We don’t volunteer at an event because we’ve identified the other volunteers as potential leads. We don’t donate something to a silent auction because we’ve worked out how many impressions our logo will receive.

We’re doing those things because we’re part of the business community and the community in general. Over time, people get to know us. They learn what Wild Iris Marketing does, but they also get to see how we work, what we know and what kind of business we are. That’s important to us and should be important to you.

Not Every Cup of Coffee Has to Have an RoI

I have coffee with a lot of people. I like coffee. Sometimes we talk about marketing. Sometimes we talk about their business. Sometimes I introduce them to someone I think they should know. Sometimes they introduce me to someone. And sometimes we drink coffee and talk about our kids, travel, what’s happening in the community or whatever else comes up.

Not every cup of coffee has to have an RoI.

I think businesses sometimes become so focused on tracking the return on every marketing activity that we forget relationships don’t work that way.

I may have coffee with someone who never hires Wild Iris Marketing. But three years from now, they may be sitting in a meeting where someone says, “We really need help with our website,” and they say, “I know someone you MUST call.”

Or maybe nothing business-related ever comes from it. That’s okay too. Building a strong network means actually having a network, not maintaining a database of people you hope to sell something to.

Referrals Come With a Little Bit of Risk

Referrals are some of the best leads a small business can receive, but think about what you’re actually asking someone to do when they recommend you. They’re putting their OWN reputation behind that recommendation.

If I tell a friend, client or colleague, “Call this person. They’ll take care of you,” I need to feel pretty confident that they actually WILL.

That confidence doesn’t usually come from an elevator pitch or a clever ad. It comes from knowing someone, seeing how they work and watching how they treat other people.

Maybe we’ve served on a committee together. Maybe I’ve seen them volunteer. Maybe they’ve answered a question for me when there was absolutely nothing in it for them. Maybe we’ve worked together before. Or maybe I’ve simply known them long enough to have a pretty good idea of who they are and how they conduct their business.

That’s what makes me comfortable putting their name in front of someone else.

And that’s exactly what we’re trying to build when Wild Iris Marketing participates in the community. Not a list of prospects. A group of people who actually know us well enough to feel comfortable saying, “You should talk to Wild Iris Marketing.”

Networking Isn’t About Collecting Business Cards

This is also why I think businesses sometimes approach networking backwards. If you walk into a networking event trying to identify everyone in the room who could potentially buy from you, you’re missing most of the value of being there. The person you’re talking to may NEVER need your service. But they might KNOW 50 people who do.

They might have expertise that helps you solve a problem six months from now. They might know someone you need to meet. You might know someone they need to meet. Or you might simply enjoy talking to them. Try it!

Networking works a lot better when you stop treating every conversation like the beginning of a sales funnel. It’s a bad vibe and everyone can immediately see right through it.

Show What You Know Without Always Asking for Something

The same principle applies online. Not every social media post needs to say “Call today.” Not every newsletter needs to sell something. Not every blog needs to end with a giant sales pitch. Sometimes you can just answer a question or provide valuable information. Because that’s what PEOPLE do.

If we know something about marketing that would help a business owner avoid wasting money, Wild Iris Marketing can share it. If Google changes something that people need to understand, we can explain it in normal English. If we see a scam targeting small businesses, we can warn people about it.

Some of the people reading that information will never hire Wild Iris Marketing. But they’re still getting to know us. And learning that we know marketing.

And if they do eventually need marketing help, we’ve already had a lot of the conversation. They know how we think. They’ve seen that we understand the subject. Hopefully, they also know that we’re not going to recommend something simply because we can charge them for it.

That trust is far more valuable than another sales pitch.

The Long Game Is Still Marketing

This kind of marketing can frustrate people who want to measure everything. There isn’t a neat Google Analytics report showing that volunteering at a community event led to a conversation six months later, which led to coffee four months after that, which led to an introduction, which eventually turned into a new website project.

But that is often how small business works. The real world doesn’t have UTM tracking codes attached to every interaction.

People know people. People remember people. And people recommend people they trust.

That doesn’t mean businesses should stop advertising, doing SEO, sending newsletters or investing in their websites. Wild Iris Marketing certainly isn’t going to tell you that. Those things help people find you and keep your business visible.

But visibility and trust aren’t the same thing. Good marketing should help with both.

So go to the chamber event even if you don’t think there are any immediate prospects there. Volunteer for something. Donate to the silent auction. Teach someone what you know. Introduce two people who should know each other. Answer a question without attaching an invoice to it.

And occasionally, have the cup of coffee without worrying about the RoI. You might be surprised where the relationship eventually leads.