The journey from traditional business to digital marketing offers valuable lessons for entrepreneurs in the Appalachian Highlands
The Unexpected Path to Digital Marketing
Kent from LocalEyes Growth recently shared his fascinating journey from running a demolition company to building a thriving local SEO agency on The Unscripted SEO Podcast. His experience offers powerful insights for founders in the Appalachian Highlands region looking to leverage digital strategies.
“Is it industrial demolition? Is it pulling down industrial work sites? Or is it demolition of houses? What’s that niche look like?”
Kent explained that after closing his instant coffee manufacturing company, he unexpectedly moved into demolition work at his in-laws’ suggestion. His focus was on “dismantlement or selective demolition” rather than large-scale industrial projects. What began as a small residential demolition business in Oregon quickly grew into a successful operation that later expanded to Atlanta, Georgia with Swift Demolition.
As his demolition business grew, Kent recognized something crucial that many Appalachian founders miss: the importance of SEO even for B2B companies. “Getting into a new market, I was really like, we need to take SEO seriously because there’s so many people—people do search, even in a B2B business, people search for new contractors to work with.”
This realization led him to partner with his brother-in-law to launch Localize Growth, an SEO agency that has found its niche working with coffee carts and event caterers.
B2B Marketing That Actually Works
Many founders in our region struggle with effective B2B marketing. Kent’s approach provides a breakthrough strategy: focus on solving problems rather than simply promoting services.
“For demolition, it’s safety,” Kent explained. “Having content focused around ‘here’s what we put in place to prevent workplace injuries’ is totally different from saying ‘we’re the fastest, we’re the cleanest, we’re the best.’ Instead, highlight the common problems clients face with other providers and explain how you’ve addressed those challenges.”
This problem-solving approach resonates particularly well with businesses in our region, where practical solutions and trust-building are essential elements of business relationships. If you focus on the practical elements of your B2B offer, you can identify an effective value offer that resonates. Like roll off sytems can just focus on making cleanup for worksites or demolition projects simple.
Finding Your Profitable Niche
One of the most powerful revelations from Kent’s experience was the importance of finding an underserved market. After experimenting with various clients including restaurants and photographers, Kent’s agency found remarkable success by focusing on coffee cart owners and event caterers.
“We started positioning ourselves for those people [coffee cart owners], got one or two clients and immediately the results hit within a few weeks. There’s just no competition, especially in these smaller towns. A few tweaks on the Google Business Profile, few tweaks to H1s and meta titles, and it’s like they were number one in their town.”
For Appalachian founders, this highlights a critical strategy: look for niches where competition is minimal, allowing even simple optimization to yield significant results.
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The ROI of B2B SEO
Many founders hesitate to invest in SEO for B2B businesses, believing the traffic potential is too low. Kent challenges this perspective with powerful insight:
“Even though the traffic and the amount of people searching for a B2B contractor might be lower, the ROI on that can be massive. Because if you get one new client that you work with for the next five years on every single one of their projects, that could be hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars.”
This perspective is particularly relevant for Appalachian founders, where long-term business relationships can provide stability and growth for new ventures.
Point #1: Solving Problems vs. Promoting Advantages
Kent’s first key insight was shifting from “here are my advantages” to “here are the problems I’m solving for you.” This represents a fundamental shift in B2B content philosophy.
Traditional promotional content tends to be self-focused:
- “We have 20 years of experience”
- “We use the latest equipment”
- “We offer competitive pricing”
Problem-solving content is client-focused:
- “Your project timeline won’t be delayed due to our efficient processes”
- “You won’t face unexpected costs because we handle proper disposal of all materials”
- “You can be confident all permits are handled correctly because of our regulatory expertise”
This approach works especially well for B2B because:
- B2B purchasing decisions are typically made by committees with different concerns
- B2B buyers are evaluated on risk mitigation as much as positive outcomes
- B2B relationships tend to be longer-term, making problem prevention more valuable
- B2B purchasing often involves more significant investments, increasing concern about potential issues
By structuring content around these principles, B2B companies can create material that resonates with decision-makers who are primarily concerned with avoiding problems rather than chasing marginal benefits. Like Vape-Jet would want to set themselves as an authority by creating content that their manufacturing process solves for their potential clients, long before they actually ask.
Kent emphasized that for his demolition business, safety is the primary concern that his B2B content addresses. This reflects a broader principle for B2B marketing: identify the most critical pain point in your industry and make that the centerpiece of your content strategy.
For demolition, safety resonates because:
- Job site accidents can shut down projects completely
- Safety violations come with regulatory penalties and increased insurance costs
- General contractors are liable for subcontractor safety issues
- A single incident can damage a company’s reputation permanently
Content that addresses these concerns might include:
- Case studies showing your safety record on challenging projects
- Explanations of your safety protocols and training programs
- Documentation of safety certifications and compliance measures
- Comparisons between industry-standard safety practices and your enhanced approach
The Power of Google Business Profile
Jeremy Rivera, host of The Unscripted SEO Podcast, emphasized that Google Business Profile optimization is often underutilized despite being a powerful tool for local businesses.
“You can communicate what it is that you do by adding specific pictures. You can fill out the Q&A section. You can go in and make sure all your categories are actually correct for once, and then make live posts that push to different parts of your business. And it’s cash on the table left by so many organizations.”
For Appalachian founders with limited marketing budgets, this presents a high-ROI opportunity requiring minimal investment, just the time spent reviewing a key part of your digital marketing arsenal.
Event Marketing for Backlinks
The podcast highlighted how event marketing can be leveraged as a channel to build valuable backlinks. Jeremy mentioned how “event syndicators and the event markup on sites” can provide extra visibility in search results.
Kent agreed: “Some of them just get so much traffic. Like you look at The Knot… it’s like how something as simple as getting a link sent from theknot.com to a small catering page can just have a massive impact.” There’s so many event marketing wins, just engage a photo booth rental company, submit your event to these sites and reap the benefits.
This strategy pairs perfectly with the focus on great events that can move your startup forward in the Appalachian region.
Community-Based Marketing: The Future of Local Visibility
Perhaps the most relevant insight for Appalachian founders is the shift toward community-based marketing that integrates with SEO strategy.
“It’s way more real world, way more connected between all of these channels, like more of a holistic view of approaching this,” Kent noted. “I could be putting the same amount of effort into a local community-based campaign that not only helps SEO, it helps my rankings and helps the strategy of my business, but also connects me to other business owners in real life and could have that 10-fold effect.”
Jeremy recommended tools like Zip Sprout to find local sponsorships and encouraged founders to look for co-marketing opportunities with complementary businesses serving the same audience but not directly competing.
This approach aligns perfectly with the Appalachian values of community connection and relationship-building, while simultaneously boosting digital visibility.
Leveraging Social Media Strategically
Jeremy shared a valuable tip for Appalachian founders looking to expand their network: use Threads on Instagram to find collaboration opportunities.
“There’s people literally putting out there, ‘hey, I wanna be interviewed’ or ‘hey, I want to interview people from my podcast’… there’s so many one-to-one options to connect with people and find co-marketing opportunities.”
This demonstrates how incredible customer service and relationship-building coupled with strategic digital outreach can create meaningful business connections.
Key Takeaways for Appalachian Founders
- B2B marketing requires a problem-solving approach: Focus content on addressing the headaches and challenges your potential clients face rather than just promoting your services.
- Google Business Profile optimization is often a quick win, especially in less competitive markets throughout the Appalachian Highlands.
- Niche selection matters: Finding an underserved market can lead to faster results and higher client satisfaction.
- Community-based marketing integrates with SEO: Real-world connections and local events generate digital value beyond traditional marketing.
- Event syndication can boost visibility: Event listings and partnerships with event platforms create valuable backlinks and increase local relevance.
- The future of local marketing is increasingly hands-on: Success requires getting involved in the community rather than just technical optimization.
- Content repurposing is key: Conversations, interviews, and brainstorming sessions can be transformed into valuable website content.
This journey from traditional business to digital marketing success demonstrates how strategic digital presence paired with authentic community engagement can create remarkable growth opportunities for founders in our region.
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