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.
The Problem with Transactional Thinking
Most businesses approach marketing with a transactional mindset. But as Marisa explained, only 3% of your audience is ready to buy at any given moment. The other 97% need to be nurtured through consistent, value-first engagement — a reality that mirrors what we see in SEO, where informational queries vastly outnumber transactional ones.
The Evolution of Customer Touchpoints
Marisa noted that customer journeys now require 15–20 touches before a purchase — up from 5–7 a decade ago. For SEO professionals, this means creating content for every stage of the buyer’s journey, building topic clusters, and maintaining consistent messaging across all channels.
Building Year-Round Engagement Systems
Rather than isolated events, Marisa advocates for a signature in-person event, a Slack community, and virtual touchpoints throughout the year. Applied to content marketing: create interconnected content ecosystems rather than standalone posts, and maintain engagement between major campaigns.
The Business Therapy Approach
Marisa described herself as a “business therapist” — someone who listens to problems and provides solutions before asking for anything in return. For SEO professionals, this means leading with genuinely helpful content that addresses real user questions, building trust long before a sales conversation happens.
Leveraging Superfans for Growth
Lean into existing happy customers who already have networks of similar potential clients. Create detailed case studies, encourage referrals, and focus on client success rather than project completion. Word-of-mouth referrals consistently outperform cold outreach for high-value services.
Applying Relationship-Building to SEO Strategy
- Create content for the entire buyer journey — awareness, evaluation, and decision stages
- Use email marketing to maintain relationships between website visits
- Build community through webinars, LinkedIn groups, and industry forums
- Plan content series that build authority over months, not just individual posts
Conclusion: Relationships as Competitive Advantage
The businesses that thrive 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 consistently, 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.