With the age of the internet, we have moved far away from linear thinking. We have stopped deciding linearly. I don’t think we ever really decided linearly. However, before the internet, our research for businesses like yours was limited generally to word of mouth/referrals, advertising, your basic marketing materials and the yellow pages. An occasional press piece or article occurred but that was difficult to keep out there.
Now I can do immense amounts of research about your industry, your business and your services, from 100,000 foot level down to microscopic. However, that research bounces all over the place, and sometimes might not even be research.
Each place is an opportunity for you to be in front of a potential client. However, think of it as amorphous. Tell the story in the context of your services as well as out of the context. Think that if you can get your story in front of someone seven times, you will most likely have a new lead. Think that those seven times might not be in a linear fashion, but over time on different vehicles. I might do a little research here on Google, then watch a youtube video, then research something else on a different website, then download a podcast then ask a question of my Social Media circles. All done over the course of a few days.
If you can piece together a story while answering my questions in all of these places, you will probably win my business.
Getting out of the linear decision making thought process is a difficult mindset but deserves the practice.