Recently, I visited Hemink Group in Holten to give an introductory lesson on Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). For a team currently preparing a new website, the timing was perfect. The goal of the session? To show that traditional marketing no longer aligns with how their customers find answers today. Businesses need a new AI marketing strategy to stay ahead.
It was great to see what happens when you dive deep with a team. You see the exact moment the penny drops: if AI doesn’t use you as a source, you become invisible to a large group of potential customers.
The Shift: The answer is already on the screen
During the workshop, I explained that the era of ‘clicking blue links’ is ending. Hemink’s clients — who often have complex questions about property maintenance and sustainability — are now getting their answers directly from systems like ChatGPT or Google AI Overviews.
The major eye-opener for the team was that the customer often doesn’t even visit your website to find the answer anymore. This means your marketing strategy has to change. It’s no longer just about your website being ‘found’; it’s about being the authority the AI relies on for its information.
“We need to include this in the new website immediately”
Debora Citgez, director of customer and market at Hemink, summed up the core of the workshop perfectly. She realized that this new way of searching affects everything: from how you write copy to how you set up the technical side of your website. “We need to take this into account during the build; this is going to work completely differently,” was her immediate reaction.
During the session, we looked at practical steps a team can take right away to build their GEO authority:
- Structured data: Ensuring AI understands the context of your expertise.
- Brand citations: Linking your brand name to your specialty in the right places.
- Complete answers: Making information so factual that AI cannot ignore you.
From inspiration to a concrete plan
What made this day successful for me was the team’s enthusiasm and eagerness to learn. An introductory lesson is a great start, but the real value lies in the application. That’s why we’re not stopping at this one session.
We are now going to do a series of follow-up workshops to get Hemink’s entire marketing strategy ready for the world of AI. It’s fantastic to see a team switch from ‘waiting and seeing’ to ‘leading the way’ in a single afternoon.
