I’d actually have a lot to say on this one because our growth has been very community/reputation driven:
For us, it’s been a combination of Google/SEO, reviews, and community presence.
We’ve never relied heavily on paid lead platforms. We put a LOT of energy into building our Google presence and collecting reviews, and that compounds over time. Some of our largest commercial opportunities have literally come from someone Googling us, seeing hundreds of strong reviews, then looking at our website and deciding we looked like a legitimate company they could trust.
But I’m also a huge believer in community-based marketing. Sponsorships, networking groups, local events, nonprofit involvement, awards, etc. don’t always give you a neat “we spent $500 and got $2,000 back” attribution. What they do is make your name familiar.
Eventually people aren’t just searching for “a company.” They’re searching for YOU.
I think the mistake is expecting community marketing to behave like paid ads. It’s a much longer game, but after 10 years in the same market, I can absolutely say that reputation has become one of our strongest marketing channels.
