A Knowledgeable Customer Is A Better Customer
An educated and knowledgeable customer asks the right questions and has a better understanding of the work that goes into providing your services. This adds value & clarity to your pricing. People are more likely to spend and invest in higher-priced products/services.
A client that has a clearer understanding of the product/service that they need is a lot easier to provide support for. Helping them think through and identify what it is that they need allows you the ability to identify if you’re the right fit. The benefit of finding this out earlier in the sales process is that it allows you to qualify leads and forecast what may or may not be a real opportunity.
Did I Say Too Much?
There is a fear of I don’t want to say or share too much because I may give away their need for my services. It’s a rationale fear to the extent that they’re DIY’ers who are looking to learn enough to do the work themselves. While competitors are looking to see what your edge is so that they can remove it to even the playing field and increase their chances of a sale.
Displaying your expertise and strengths is going to resonate with the people that are searching for someone that they can trust with addressing their needs. Tire kickers, bargain shoppers & DIY’ers are just part of the business process. Tire kickers will ask enough to see if they find value in your offering. Bargain shoppers are looking to see what corners they can cut and still feel like they didn’t compromise on value. DIY’ers want to learn enough to see if they can do the work themselves.
The reality is even those less than desirable situations can turn into you winning the business. It may just take them going through a bad experience to realize that you were the best option. Graciously accepting that potential ah-ha moment is what makes it an acceptable risk.
Remove The Hurdles In The Way Of Making Better Choices
One of the things that block or slow down closing a deal is a potential client that feels overwhelmed. By removing some of the hurdles in the way. You can clear the path to a conversation that shows you truly are the best choice for their need.
An example of this is Proper.ai. One of the things that they’re doing is helping their clients with managing their properties and business. They’re doing it by sharing articles that help educate their clients on a variety of topics. This frees up their Property Manager clients to be able to focus on their bookkeeping service. Here’s an example of an article on a Property Manager’s Guide to Marketing to Owners. By helping their clients understand how to market to owners. They’re removing the hurdles and helping them find more business. More business means more need for an accountant to help manage their books. Simple enough concept but not one being used often by businesses with websites.
FAQ’s to The Rescue
By documenting the most frequently asked and relevant questions. You are putting yourself in a position of authority. Letting people know that you’re on the same page with the questions and concerns that they have. While assuring them that you not only have the answer to the question but the solution.
Helping the customer journey of “Know, Like, Trust” along and increasing your chances of winning the business. Simple enough strategy that not only helps you with the people visiting your website. But it helps the search engines know that you are a great resource and options as well. This helps you with your SEO ranking. Anyone searching for answers to the questions that you’re covering with your FAQs could be presented with your responses as an answer.
Google is not including excerpts of content in their search results. Think about how many people will now get to see not only that you understand their question but their needs. Can you see how that would increase your opportunity for organic traffic and potential customers?
Customer Retention Is The Key to Longevity
When you invest in your customers you stand to see a return on it with loyalty. From a marketing standpoint, it is a lot easier to sell your product/services to someone who already knows your business and what you have to offer.
Keeping your clients up to date with industry standards and providing insights that they can apply to their business is a great way to ensure you have customers that can pay your rate/fees. Their success is your success. By extension, the revenue gains leave room for your recurring payments and reasons to purchase again.
Summary
There are more advantages to helping to educate a lead and customer than there are pitfalls. Becoming a go-to resource only increases your opportunities to build the trust level. This can lead to referrals from people who may or may not use your services but know that you know your stuff.
The brand credibility-building opportunity alone is enough to make it a consideration. The SEO implications make it a winning strategy that should be added to the mix.
Majority Media puts a focus on business strategy and how best to apply it to your business. Rather than cookie-cutter, one size fits all approaches. The goal is to take a look at where you are in your business and the resources available. Then put together a plan and strategy that can work for you. Looking at where you are and where you’re trying to go. Whether it’s establishing yourself in your industry or looking for new ways to maintain the edge that you’ve enjoyed over your competitors.
If you find this article helpful you may also find our newsletter designed for entrepreneurs helpful as well. It’s a weekly curated newsletter gathering helpful tips and insights from industry experts on a variety of topics. Ranging from brand building and strategy to questions that you should be asking as a business owner. Understanding that you don’t know what you don’t know until you realize it’s a question worth asking. You can find past issues and subscribe here.
You can also check out our resource library. Where I share eBooks with helpful tips, best practices, and insights for entrepreneurs. You can find the resource library here. Learn and grow your business at your own pace. We are here the help when you’re ready.
