A few months back, I received a phone call from a sole proprietor that had what sounded like a very unique and thriving business. In his initial inquiry, he requested some help with search engine optimization, social media and perhaps a website redesign. After probing a bit more and finding out that he had no real marketing plan, he gave us the green light to do a simplified version of The Publisher Method, our proprietary strategy process that helps companies build a complete online marketing machine.

A Screeching Halt

During the first meeting of our strategic engagement, we always start with a client discovery and goal setting exercise that helps us begin to immerse ourselves into the client’s business. But we had to apply the breaks on this conversation when he struggled to answer several basic questions about his business, including… (more…)