In my recent conversation with Marisa Cali, CEO of Be Present Events, on the Unscripted SEO Podcast, we explored a critical shift in marketing thinking: moving from transactional, one-off events to building long-term relationships that compound over time. This insight is particularly valuable for SEO professionals who understand that sustainable organic growth requires patience and consistent relationship building with both search engines and users.
Just as successful SEO strategies focus on long-term traffic potential rather than quick ranking tricks, effective event marketing and business development require a relationship-first approach that pays dividends over months and years.
Listen to the Full Episode
For more detailed insights from this conversation, check out Marisa’s own recap at Be Present Events and my detailed episode breakdown at Unscripted SEO.
The Problem with Transactional Thinking
Most businesses approach marketing with a transactional mindset – they want immediate results from every interaction. But as Marisa explained during our conversation, this approach often fails to capture the full potential of marketing efforts.
The 3% Reality:
“Because ultimately in SEO, in marketing in general, not everybody, it’s like 3% are transactionally ready at that moment. So there’s that 97% of time where they will eventually or probably might.“
This statistic fundamentally changes how we should approach marketing. If only 3% of your audience is ready to buy immediately, what happens to the other 97%? In traditional transactional marketing, they’re essentially lost. But with a relationship-building approach, they become future opportunities.
This connects directly to what we see in SEO. Most keyword research strategies reveal that informational queries vastly outnumber transactional ones. People spend months researching before making decisions, which means our content strategy should nurture them throughout that entire journey.
The Evolution of Customer Touchpoints
Marisa shared a crucial insight about how customer journeys have become more complex:
“I think years ago it was like seven maybe five to seven touches and then they’re ready to buy now. It’s probably like 15-20 because of all the extra channels that we have to reach out and all the extra noise, especially if you’re in a high ticket or your event is a little more high touch.“
This evolution mirrors what we’ve seen in B2B SEO, where buying cycles have become longer and more complex. B2B customers research extensively before making decisions, often consuming dozens of pieces of content across multiple channels.
For SEO professionals, this means:
- Creating content for every stage of the buyer’s journey
- Building topic clusters that address multiple related questions
- Maintaining consistent messaging across all touchpoints
- Understanding that ranking for informational keywords is just the beginning of the sales process
Building Year-Round Engagement Systems
Instead of thinking about events as isolated moments, Marisa advocates for creating ongoing engagement systems:
“There’s a signature event in person. There’s also a membership-style Slack community throughout the year. There’s virtual events that bring that community together.“
This holistic approach creates multiple touchpoints and keeps your brand top-of-mind throughout the extended sales cycle. The same principle applies to content marketing and SEO – rather than creating individual blog posts in isolation, successful strategies create interconnected content ecosystems.
The Adjacent Events Strategy
One particularly interesting concept Marisa shared was “adjacent events”:
“Instead of going to the show and spending thousands of dollars… people are looking for those experiences within the trade show but also outside.“
This strategy of creating valuable touchpoints adjacent to major industry events can be applied to content marketing:
- Creating content that builds on popular industry topics
- Hosting webinars that complement major conferences
- Building relationships with industry influencers and thought leaders
- Creating content clusters around trending industry themes
The Business Therapy Approach
Marisa described her role in a way that perfectly captures relationship-building marketing:
“I feel like I’m a business therapist. People are coming to me like I have a problem and they understand that if they explain it to me, I might be able to provide them a solution.“
This “business therapist” approach works because it:
- Focuses on understanding problems rather than pushing solutions
- Builds trust through genuine listening and advice
- Creates value before asking for anything in return
- Establishes expertise through helpful interactions
For SEO professionals, this translates to creating content that genuinely addresses user problems and questions. Our keyword analysis approach should focus on understanding user intent and providing comprehensive solutions.
Understanding Business Cycles and Timing
Marisa emphasized the importance of understanding natural business cycles:
“The slow season is like November, December, some of January, right? Because people are like, it’s holidays. I don’t want to think about any work or pay you for anything because it’s the end of the year.“
But rather than accepting slow periods, she uses them strategically:
“I set a reminder when I am in busy season, which is right now, April, May, June, July, to reconnect with those people that may have dropped off that really wanted to connect and do something in the early part of the year, but for whatever reason, it didn’t work out.“
This cyclical approach to relationship maintenance is crucial for sustainable business growth. It recognizes that:
- Business relationships have natural rhythms
- Timing isn’t always perfect for sales conversations
- Maintaining contact during slow periods sets up future opportunities
- Consistency over time builds stronger relationships than intense short-term efforts
The Trust-Building Timeline
Perhaps the most important insight from our conversation was about the time required to build business relationships:
“The business cycle is not fast. I’m not talking to you and then tomorrow we’re working together always. There’s vetting, there’s trust that needs to be built, there’s how can you really help me? And that takes time.“
This patient approach to relationship building is essential for high-value services like SEO consulting. Clients need to:
- Understand the value of what you’re offering
- Trust your expertise and approach
- Feel confident in your ability to deliver results
- See alignment between their needs and your capabilities
Each of these elements takes time to develop, which is why relationship-building approaches consistently outperform transactional tactics for complex services.
Leveraging Superfans for Growth
When discussing marketing for “boring” industries, Marisa shared a strategy that applies broadly:
“Really leaning into those people that already use it and they have a network. Leveraging those people versus trying to get one person or two people that might see it on social.“
This superfan strategy works because:
- Existing customers provide social proof that’s more credible than marketing claims
- Happy customers have networks of similar potential customers
- Customer success stories address real objections and concerns
- Word-of-mouth referrals have higher conversion rates than cold outreach
For SEO professionals, this means:
- Creating detailed case studies of successful projects
- Encouraging satisfied clients to share their experiences
- Building relationships with industry peers who can refer business
- Focusing on client success rather than just project completion
Platform Strategy for Long-Term Relationships
Marisa’s approach to social media reflects relationship-building priorities:
“On my website, I’ll only do LinkedIn and Instagram. Even though I have all the other platforms, they’re just not built out in a way that represents who I would work with.“
This selective approach allows for:
- Deeper engagement on fewer platforms
- Better relationships with audience members
- More authentic interactions rather than superficial presence
- Higher quality connections with ideal clients
The same principle applies to content marketing – it’s better to create comprehensive, valuable content on topics where you can build authority than to spread efforts thin across too many topics.
The Freelance Relationship Challenge
Our conversation touched on the particular challenges freelancers face in building relationships:
“It is hard that freelance life of like, it’s feast or famine and I either have, I’ve Ahabed and I’ve got my whale and I’ve got all everything tied up in it and then they’re gone.“
This boom-bust cycle happens when freelancers focus too heavily on individual large clients rather than building a diverse network of relationships. The solution involves:
- Maintaining multiple client relationships rather than depending on one large client
- Continuing relationship-building activities even when busy with current projects
- Creating systems for staying in touch with past clients and prospects
- Building a reputation that generates consistent referrals
Applying Relationship-Building to SEO Strategy
The insights from our conversation apply directly to SEO and content marketing:
1. Content for the Entire Journey
Rather than only targeting high-intent commercial keywords, create content that serves users throughout their research and decision-making process. This includes:
- Educational content that builds awareness
- Comparison content that helps evaluation
- Implementation content that supports decision-making
2. Email Marketing Integration
Just like Marisa’s Slack communities, email marketing allows for ongoing relationship building between website visits. Use email to:
- Share additional valuable content
- Provide updates on industry developments
- Offer exclusive insights or resources
- Maintain top-of-mind awareness
3. Community Building
Create opportunities for your audience to engage beyond individual content pieces:
- Host webinars or virtual events
- Create LinkedIn groups around industry topics
- Participate in industry forums and communities
- Build relationships with other experts in your space
4. Long-Term Content Planning
Rather than creating isolated pieces of content, develop content series and topic clusters that build authority over time:
- Plan content campaigns that span multiple months
- Create interconnected content that builds on previous pieces
- Develop expertise areas where you consistently provide value
- Track long-term engagement and relationship metrics, not just short-term traffic
Measuring Relationship-Building Success
Traditional marketing metrics often miss the value of relationship-building activities. Instead of only tracking immediate conversions, consider metrics like:
- Email engagement over time – Are people staying engaged with your content?
- Repeat website visitors – Are people coming back to consume more content?
- Social media interactions – Are you building genuine relationships with your audience?
- Referral sources – How much business comes from existing relationships?
- Customer lifetime value – Are your relationships generating long-term value?
These metrics align with what we track in SEO ROI analysis – long-term value creation rather than just short-term traffic spikes.
The Compound Effect of Relationship Marketing
What makes relationship-building so powerful is its compound effect. As Marisa demonstrated throughout our conversation, investing in relationships creates benefits that multiply over time:
- Referrals generate more referrals as your network expands
- Trust builds reputation which attracts higher-quality opportunities
- Expertise recognition leads to speaking and collaboration opportunities
- Long-term clients provide stable revenue and detailed case studies
This mirrors the compound effect we see in SEO, where consistent content creation and relationship building (link building) creates authority that makes future optimization efforts more effective.
Practical Implementation Steps
Based on our conversation, here are practical steps to implement relationship-building marketing:
1. Audit Your Current Approach
- What percentage of your marketing focuses on immediate sales vs. relationship building?
- How are you staying in touch with prospects who aren’t ready to buy now?
- What systems do you have for maintaining long-term relationships?
2. Create Year-Round Engagement Systems
- Develop email newsletters that provide ongoing value
- Plan content series that keep your audience engaged over time
- Create opportunities for two-way interaction with your audience
3. Build Your “Adjacent Events” Strategy
- Identify where your ideal clients gather (conferences, online communities, industry forums)
- Create valuable content and resources that complement these gatherings
- Focus on relationship building rather than direct sales at these events
4. Develop Your “Business Therapy” Skills
- Practice active listening in client conversations
- Ask questions that uncover real problems and challenges
- Provide value before asking for anything in return
- Build genuine expertise in your area of focus
Conclusion: Relationships as Competitive Advantage
In a world of increasing marketing noise and shorter attention spans, the ability to build genuine long-term relationships becomes a significant competitive advantage. As our conversation revealed, businesses that focus on relationship building rather than transactional interactions create more sustainable, profitable growth.
For SEO professionals and digital marketers, this means:
- Thinking beyond immediate rankings to long-term authority building
- Creating content ecosystems rather than isolated pieces
- Building genuine expertise and sharing it generously
- Maintaining relationships with clients, prospects, and industry peers over time
- Being patient with results while consistently providing value
The businesses that thrive in the long term are those that understand the 97% – the prospects who aren’t ready to buy today but could become valuable clients tomorrow. By building systems for nurturing these relationships over time, you create a sustainable competitive advantage that compounds year over year.
Ready to start building long-term relationships through your marketing? Explore our free SEO forecasting tools to understand your long-term traffic potential, or listen to more relationship-building insights on the Unscripted SEO Podcast.