Marketing companies that ruin your business

I'm really sorry to hear about your experience with that marketing company. Unfortunately, it's a situation many small businesses face when they place trust in agencies that don’t deliver results. The first step to recovery is to analyze and rebuild strategically. Here's how I would recommend approaching it. 

• Evaluate and Learn from the Experience: Review the metrics and strategies that the marketing company claimed they were working on. Were there any reports or analytics provided? Understanding where they went wrong, whether it was the wrong targeting, ineffective strategies, or poor communication, will help you avoid similar mistakes moving forward.
• Start Small and Rebuild Trust: Begin by re-establishing your presence in the most critical areas. Revitalize your existing customer base by reaching out directly, offering incentives, and driving word-of-mouth referrals. Use platforms like Google My Business and Yelp to engage with local customers—places where you can manage your own reviews and feedback.
• SEO and Online Presence: If your website fell into disrepair, consider investing in basic SEO fixes. Start with local SEO, focusing on optimizing your site for your service area and making sure your Google listing is updated. Use content strategies, like blogging or simple service guides, to start generating organic traffic again.

I know it seems scary but take things one step at a time. 

Yelp and home advisor are both crooks. They almost ruined my business because of the fake referrals scheme and how they will get jobs on top of that deleting my customers reviews that were top stars but keeping the negative ones when I didn't even do work for them 

Hey FP, it sounds like you’ve been through a really tough experience—especially after making a big investment in something that was supposed to boost your business. It’s incredibly frustrating when a marketing partner doesn’t deliver and even more so when they aren’t responsive & rude. 😕

I have a few ideas that come to mind that can help you get back on track:

• Reach out and connect with your community: local FB groups, community events, sponsoring
• Reach out to past clients and set up a referral program that fit your business

Im curious to hear from other members of our community!

Hey, so sorry to hear about your experience. I had a similar one with someone who was supposed to build my website several years ago.  $20k later, I had no website, and he told me point blank I couldn't do it myself.  I love Julie's ideas about reconnecting with your community but if you're a Jobber user - don't overlook the powerful marketing tools that you can use within the platform. 

If I were in your shoes and ready to move forward, I'd do three things today:

• Use marketing tools to promote past clients (Jobber's program is Robust).
• Use the referral marketing tools to offer your past clients perks if they refer you.
• Look at boosting your number of reviews as soon as possible! Make sure you're also posting content on Google Business, which will raise your organization's profile on Google.

I'd also recommend harnessing powerful tools like ChatGPT.  What I love about that platform is that it is excellent for brainstorming, helping you write content, and generating marketing materials.  It takes a bit of time to get up to speed with your preference and writing styles, but I'd start a conversation with it and get those creative juices flowing!  

Giving someone else power over your marketing is a scary thing. If you need to take things off your plate in the future, it might make more sense to delegate some admin tasks and keep the marketing—which essentially defines your company brand—in-house for a while until you find a reputable program (like Nicejob) that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and produces real results. 

Best of Luck to you!