Marketing is about finding people with a need and getting them to trust you. And, as such, your job is to get the right information to the right people at the right time.
So, how do people really know that you are an expert that can be trusted?
The answer is teaching. Marketing through teaching. Otherwise known as content marketing.
By using content marketing to show people how you help them, you demonstrate your expertise and build trust with people and, people buy from people they trust.
In this episode, I’ll discuss how this approach can do wonders for your business and address common fears and objections.
Enjoy.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
As part of the service, I have had this episode transcribed. Transcribing, proofing, and editing a podcast episode is A LOT of work. That’s why I use a service called REV who provide professional freelance transcriptionists who are vetted for quality. While they offer a 99% accuracy guarantee, I do not proof-read their work extensively. Instead, I simply copy and paste below and, as such, please note that this is not a verbatim transcript of the episode and I have trimmed things like the intro, close, and mid-show ad.
In this episode, I’m going to talk to you about how you should be worried that not enough people know how you do what you do for them.
I know that statement sounds a bit weird so let’s dive into it.
You know by now that marketing is about finding people with a need and getting them to trust you. And, as such, your job is to get the right information to the right people at the right time.
So, how do we get people to trust that we can help solve their need, want, or problem?
Well, case studies work well, particularly later on in the sales funnel as people compare options. Case studies help project people into similar situations. So, they can be very powerful.
However, case studies are always nicely written and are clearly corporate comms. So, while they are great, people know they are a polished marketing asset.
You can share examples of your work, like a portfolio. That is always a good idea, however, like case studies, they are still a polished corporate marketing asset.
Testimonials can also be polished up and put on your website.
But all those things are owned by the company and we only use them to put our best foot forward. I mean, we don’t share examples of case studies that went wrong, or add projects to the portfolio that we aren’t that proud of, or post the feedback that may paint us in a bad light.
Thing is, everyone knows that businesses are not perfect. That’s why online reviews, like Google reviews, are so powerful. You’ll always get a few bad ones but people expect it. It is how you work to fix any issues that people care about and besides, anyone with an average 5 star rating on Google smells very fishy indeed. People trust 4.7 and 4.8 averages more than they do 5-star averages because they know that no business is perfect. It is impossible.
So, Google reviews provide social proof that you can do what you say you can do but still, how do people really know that you are an expert that can be trusted?
The answer is in teaching. Marketing through teaching. Otherwise known as content marketing.
By using content marketing to show people how you help them, you demonstrate your expertise and build trust with people and, people buy from people they trust.
What do I mean by demonstrating your expertise? Well, if you are a mechanic, show them how to change their brake pads. If you a plumber, show them how to change a washer. If you are a cleaner, show them oven cleaning hacks. If you are a PT, show them certain exercises and proper technique.
Now, it is at this point that some people freak out. They get worried that people will consume their content, whether that’s a blog, video, whitepaper, ebook, or a podcast, and then go off and do what they normally get paid to do for people. i.e. they’ll lose a customer.
That’s not true. Here’s the thing. Those people who want to learn how to do it themselves, were never going to be your customer. They were always going to do it themselves. You never lost them because they were never truly a convertible lead anyway. They were never in play.
If they hadn’t learnt from you, they’d find somewhere else on the internet to show them what they wanted to know. There are very few things that people do for their customers that people can’t find and learn how to do on the internet – most likely from a competitor. In 99% of cases, what a business actually does is not special.
A mechanic changing brake pads is not special. Every mechanic does that. But what sets them apart, other than cost, is how they do it. The process. And also who does it, the people involved.
Your content should always be focused on the people who don’t have the time, or the inclination to do what you do.
Forget the people wo are always going to do it themselves. In fact, even those who do it themselves will still tell people how good you are or, if they stuff it up themselves, they’ll come to you to get it fixed because they already know that you know how to do it.
Personally, I hate doing my bookkeeping. I know it isn’t hard for a sole-trader like myself. It isn’t like I ma a big complex business. And I know I could easily learn how to do my bookkeeping and my quarterly business activity statements for the tax office. But to be honest, I find it super boring and I’d much rather make podcasts like this, or finish of the infographic I was working on this morning, or start on the corporate booklet for a client that needs designing.
So, while I have a great bookkeeper, if I was in the market for a new one, I’d trust one that showed me how they did things so I had confidence in their ability. Because, apart from the corporate polished case studies, testimonials, and portfolios, how do I know I can trust them? I certainly wouldn’t rely 100% on Google Reviews.
It is also at this point that some people start to worry that their competitors are going to learn their secrets and compete harder against them. That’s a fairly common fear and I’ll talk to that, after the break.
As I said, It is at this point that some people start to worry that their competitors are going to learn their secrets and compete harder against them. However, in 99% of cases, that’s not true. In all the years I’ve worked with businesses, not once has someone come and said “I want to copy this information from our competitor”. Sure, they might copy approaches, like social media, or video, or email, or whatever, hell, everyone does that, but you certainly won’t change your competitors businesses by focusing on content that helps your target market.
In fact, you’ll actually hurt them because if people are comparing your business with a competitor, and you are producing amazing content that teaches and educates and builds trust, and your competitors aren’t, well, that speaks volumes about the competitors and sends certain signals to the prospect. All of it in your favour.
Even if you are still worried about your competitors stalking you and stealing the ‘how’ you do things, ask yourself this, “Is that what I do to my competitors?”
The answer will be “No”, most likely, because you are too busy looking after your own backyard. Just they like they are.
Think about it. Celebrity chefs have been doing it for ever.
They’ll happily go on TV and show you exactly how to cook a dish and they’ll even put it in books for you.
Are they worried that you’ll watch all their shows and buy all their books and learn everything they know and then you’ll put them out of business. Or that other celebrity chefs will steal all their knowledge?
Of course not.
They know that there is so much more that goes into being a chef.
Plus, they are all about the bigger picture.
They are about building trust and a relationship so they can sell books, sell courses, sell utensils, and endorse other products, and then renewing their TV shows. They are all about growing an audience that trusts them and that they can convert.
The other thing about marketing through teaching that is important is the connection. Not only do you build trust, but, depending on what type of content your produce, you may find that people engage with it regularly, like a podcast like this, and over time, they feel they get to know you a little. I don’t want to call it a fake, or pseudo-connection, but it clearly isn’t the same as an in-person connection, but it is real and important all the same. And it is powerful.
Finally, if you produce amazing content from a place of ‘How can I help my target audience?’, instead of ‘What can I get out of this?”, then people may engage with your content over a period of time, they become followers because they know that you take a customer-first approach to your content.
Just like this podcast. There are people out there, right now, listening to this and getting value. That’s amazing. Some of you need help with your marketing and may come to me. Or you may go somewhere else. That’s cool. I don’t mind.
Others are listening just for the education of it all. And, maybe, one day, when they need help, because I’ve put so much effort into freely sharing as much as I can with you all, they might come and ask for my help because they trust me.
Or, maybe they are talking to their network and someone says they need help with their marketing. Maybe they’ll refer them to me.
It is powerful stuff.
However, I am totally cool, and I’ll even be pumped, if any of you got in contact one day and said “I’ve been listening to you show for a while and it inspired me to do ABC and it has been a great success”. That truly would be amazing. I would never think “Oh, dam, I could have had them as a client! Why did I create helpful content?”
So, don’t be scared about going deep and showing your market exactly what you do to help them and demonstrate your expertise. You’ll build trust with people, deep trust, and you’ll set yourself apart from your competitors who are scared that they should keep what they do a secret.
Instead, you should be worried that not more people know exactly what you do and how you can help.