It’s been said the only reason you would ever engage in lead generation is because it’s a last resort. That is, you would grow by referral based on your reputation. When that doesn’t work, you’ll see companies go metric and engage in big data lead generation activities with little regard for business relationships. It’s more than apparent in the SMB IT community.
But there are a few exceptions. Datto is one of them. If you research the company, you can get your speeds and feeds fix and learn about its young wunderkind founder. That’s not what this blog is about. Instead, it’s about Datto going old school, and hosting a series of community gatherings across the US. This past week, I attended thE Datto event at a local restaurant, Duke Chowder House, with the Puget Sound Small Business Server (PSSBS) group. This night did double duty as the group’s monthly meeting as well.
Datto’s approach was very clever. It provided high-end food and drink for the user group members. Its presentation was a mix of academic content (including an unbranded ROI calculator you can download) and a partner testimonial. The audience was engaged, and the Datto team appeared to relish in its relationship building activity.
I can’t emphasize enough, in an era where new SMB IT vendors and sponsors start phones calls with “how many leads do I get,” how refreshing the Datto dinner was. It shifted the conversation from cold “spreadsheetitis” to warm clam chowder. It you have an opportunity to participate in such a Datto event, you’ll at least leave full.
