RODA marketing

Beware Of Certain Internet Marketing Companies In Lancaster PA

If you had asked us 5 years ago, when we started RODA marketing, if we thought our local competitors were ethical, we would have answered with a resounding ‘yes.’

This is partly because we have always believed people are inherently good, but also because we were given no reason to think our competition was anything but 100% ethical.

Fast-forward 5 years, and our answer may be very different.

Before deciding on hiring an Internet marketing company in Lancaster PA, many business owners will meet with a few prospective marketing companies. When this happens, we often hear the good and the bad that occurred in those meetings.

Below, we will let you know about 3 of our biggest competitors (names omitted, of course) and how they have greatly blurred the lines of ethical business practices.

Our goal is to educate business owners looking for an Internet marketing company, so you are better prepared to enter these meetings with a solid understanding of when you’re being told the truth, and when another dishonest sales person is just pitching you to win your business.

Competitor #1

Being ‘unethical’ in our minds – charging way too much and taking way too long to complete websites

A current client of ours went to one of our biggest competitors, looking for a new E-commerce site to sell their product line. After meeting with this competitor, they were quoted at $100,000, and a 10-12 month timeframe to complete their E-commerce site.

Lucky for our client, they spoke with a friend of theirs (who is also a client of ours) who referred them to RODA marketing instead.

We met with this client and sent them a proposal for less than a quarter of our competitor’s price (a fair price for them and still a fair project for us), and half the time to complete.

Fast-forward only 6-8 months, this client has a brand new website and is already experiencing more than a 50% increase in revenue. Just goes to show, a giant price tag does not automatically mean a better product or service.

Competitor #2

Being ‘unethical’ in our minds – is being WAY too pushy in sales tactics

Ever had a car salesman come running out of their office to ‘greet’ you upon arriving at the dealership? You know, the type of salesman that doesn’t really listen to your needs but only wants to make the sale. That’s the exact way this competitor handles their sales meetings with prospective clients.

Again, a current client of ours met with this company before sitting down with us and stated that at the end of the meeting they presented them with an overly expensive proposal and requested that they sign it before they would even leave the client’s office.

They became very pushy when our client requested they had a few days to review the proposal, and even became somewhat aggressive.

It is our belief that this is not how business should be handled. When you meet with us, we will send you a proposal (through email) and give you plenty of time to review it, ask questions, etc., before getting started – we even give you access to our clients, so you can speak with them before making your own decision.

Competitor #3

Being ‘unethical’ in our minds – is completely lying to prospective clients about ‘secret relationships’ with Google

A potential client we are talking with met with one of our biggest competitors and was given this sales pitch: “We are partnered with Google, so they contact us in advance of algorithm changes, so we have time to implement changes to our clients’ sites.”

To an unsuspecting client, this sounds amazingly good – these guys have an ‘in’ at Google! This could not be a bigger lie – Google has never, and WILL NEVER give any insider information to any SEO companies, plain and simple.

We looked into this ‘Google Partnership’ they have and it simply means this: they spend enough money on Google Pay Per Clip (Adwords) each month that Google gave them (and thousands of other companies) a ‘Google Partner’ button for their site.

Google Partner Status RODA marketing

As you can see, this competitor ‘bent the truth’ quite a bit in this instance.

If they lie to you during their initial sales meeting, chances are you won’t be getting a very honest and ethical service moving forward, which could put your company in a bad position moving forward.

At RODA marketing, we don’t overcharge and take a year or more to create custom sites.

We don’t push proposals down prospective clients’ throats immediately following a sales meeting.

Lastly, we CERTAINLY do not lie to potential clients about secret relationships that we have with Google.

If you sit down with us as a potential client, you’ll get free advice, a 12-month plan and more, even if you don’t select us as your Internet marketing company.

Why did we write this blog?  We don’t want businesses from Lancaster PA to feel like they cannot find a good local marketing company.  There are plenty of ethical companies to choose from, so if you hear something that sounds too good to be true, or simply doesn’t make sense – chances are you ran into one of these unethical marketing companies in Lancaster PA.

At minimum, give us a call or send us an email and we’ll verify information being shared with you from other companies, so that if you choose to work with another company you’ll have a peace of mind that, as far as we can tell, you’re not being thrown for a loop.

And if you do choose to work with us – we’ll treat you like family, just like we treat all of our clients, and provide high quality service you deserve.

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