Sales & Marketing Authority, Bestselling Author & Business Motivational Speaker

Despite all the buzz about social media and the revolution that it is going to create in the advertising world, word of mouth is still king. Very few things are valued more highly than a personal recommendation, so when one of your customers starts talking about how great your product is, people are going to listen.

Engage your Customers

Some products generate enough interest to create word of mouth and marketing buzz on their own. For the other 99% of products, you’ll have to do a bit of work to get the buzz started.

The best way to get word of mouth started is by maintaining an open dialogue with your customers. Ask them what they think of your business, what they like, and what you could improve. If your customers like one thing about your business, and your marketing materials are advertising something else, then you need to change your marketing focus.

Get Them Talking

A lot of times, there are word of mouth promotion channels that your customers may not even be thinking about, although they would probably be more than happy to promote your business.

For example, if you own a restaurant, and you know that a customer particularly enjoyed his meal, then ask him to write a review on Yelp! Your customers appreciate the hard work that you put into providing a quality product, and I think you’ll be surprised to find how willing they are to write a glowing review for you.

Throw them a Holiday Surprise

Few things stick in a person’s memory longer than an unsolicited act of kindness. Get your customers talking about you by doing something for them this holiday season. Send some of your best customers a coupon for a discount on their next purchase.

Integrate with Social Media

I know I started this post by taking a cheap potshot at social networking, but sites like Facebook and Twitter are actually just a modern take on word of mouth advertising. Specifically, they give you the ability to see which customers are spreading the good word about your business, and too see exactly what they are saying about you.

Don’t underestimate this impressive opportunity. Social media has given you the ability to know exactly what your customers are talking about. Reward your best customers, and the ones who are saying great things about you. And tailor your marketing materials to get them more in line with the good things that people are saying about you.

There are a million and a half ways that you can try to reach your customers today. But even with all the recent advances in marketing technology, the best way to reach them is still by winning over their friends. Make word of mouth advertising start working for you today!

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

(Image by Stuart Miles)

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

What is Educational Based Marketing?

Throughout my career I’ve found that the hardest part of a salesperson’s job is not necessarily convincing someone to purchase a product or service, but actually convincing him that he actually wants or needs it. In many cases my clients were hesitant to make a purchase because they simply didn’t understand the product or concept surrounding it. Enter educational based marketing…

Educational based marketing involves establishing yourself as a knowledgeable authority in your field of business. This involves more than handing out business cards and flyers at local meetings and events. Educational based marketing means building trusting relationships with your clients and prospects by showing them that you truly understand their businesses and needs.

“So how will I prove my level of knowledge and expertise,” you ask? Good question. Start sharing valuable information and stop trying to sell your product!

Yes, you read that correctly. I said stop trying to sell your product, but what I really mean is,  you need to stop being so blatantly obvious about the fact you are trying to make a sale. Act as a consultant and give your clients the time and attention they deserve. Ultimately, they’ll begin to trust you.

Be creative and you’ll attract attention. If you’re dealing with a new prospect, give him access to a printed or automatically generated email newsletter with informative aticles pertaining to your field of work. But don’t include a sales pitch anywhere within those pages.

Start a blog and post daily or weekly with information about changes or advances within your field. Share research, hints, tips, and tricks. This is another perfect opportunity to show off what you know. But don’t include a sales pitch within the text of your blog posts.

You might even offer a free lecture to a group of individuals at a trade show or convention. Discussions regarding your area of expertise, education, and experiences are perfect and will get your prospects thinking about their own businesses. But don’t include a sales pitch within the context of your lecture.

Catching my drift?

Just in case you missed it, the point here is NOT to include a sales pitch with your educational materials. Each of these methods, and there are many more, are designed to allow you to EDUCATE your clients. If they understand their own businesses and how your products or services will meet their needs, they’ll be more likely to make a purchase from you later on down the road.

After they’ve reviewed your materials, you can touch base to find out if they have questions and set up a time to discuss their needs. Until then, keep the sales pitch in the box and gracefully share as much knowledge as you can. Informed buyers make educated decisions. Proving that you are an expert in your field will not only encourage your prospect to make a purchase, but will increase the likelihood of him coming back to you again if he needs something in the future.

We’ll discuss some educational marketing strategies in future posts. Until then, take a close look at your personal marketing strategy. Are you educating your clients, or simply trying to sell?

Happy Marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant - Internet Marketing Consultant - Sales Expert

Tactics and Tips for Educational Based Marketing

If you hadn’t heard of educational based marketing before, you’re not alone. I’ve met hundreds of salespersons who had no idea there was a completely new side of marketing that they had yet to explore. Oddly enough, most of these people don’t realise that they’ve already experienced educational based marketing dozens of times. Every time you read a newspaper article, watch a paid advertisement, or attend a seminar you’re being exposed.

By now you’re wondering what methods of educational based marketing are available. There are certainly plenty to choose from, but I have a few favorites.

I love writing and sending regular newsletters. I usually accumulate tons of new information during my travels and use my articles as a way to share some of the things I’ve learned. I also answer general questions from clients and prospects, giving my readers some real life perspective. The newsletters go out via email to my subscribers, and I carry paper copies to give to those I meet at lectures and business events.

Develop a series of free educational materials. For example, someone who has picked up your newsletter might be encouraged to call your office to request additional information (perhaps a report or DVD). At that point, you’ll gather their contact information which you can later use to either send even more information or to eventually follow up with promotional materials.

Record a video or telephone call. People generally enjoy either visuals or things they can listen to while completing other tasks. Record an engaging video to post on the internet, or create a captivating phone recording that a working mother can listen to as she folds her laundry and watches her child. Make your educational materials convenient to your prospects.

Write a newspaper article. Write an informative article on a current hot topic and submit it to your local newspaper or trade magazine. Sharing information that is currently important to people, such as how to deal with rising fuel prices or the economy, will garner more attention than something that isn’t already a major focal point. Find an angle that makes it easy to relate your business to the topics at hand.

Always offer as much information as possible before you attempt to make a sale. Often, your prospects will see your contact information and visit your website to do some research on their own. In the end, you’ll spend more time answering calls asking for your services and less time trying to sell yourself!

Happy Marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant  - Internet Marketing Consultant  - Sales Expert

Educating and Informing Your Prospects

Educational based marketing is an important marketing strategy that every businessperson needs to familiarize himself with as much as possible. I find, however, that many salespeople tend to try educational based marketing and then stray back towards traditional sales tactics shortly thereafter. Some have admitted that this happens out of habit, while others admit to not being comfortable with this method of marketing.

I truly believe there is one main problem when it comes to educational based marketing. You, as a salesperson, are afraid of sharing the knowledge you have. You are either afraid of overexposing yourself and making a mistake or you are afraid that your competitors will steal your ideas and become more successful than you are.

Both of these are incredibly poor reasons to give up on educational marketing. First of all, if you are confident in your knowledge it will show in all that you do. You’ll never make a mistake if you create well-planned, carefully researched, and thoroughly checked educational materials. It simply isn’t possible to put together a genuine piece of marketing material in a few hours or even a day. Taking the time to do things right will result in a properly formatted document that will leave your prospects clamoring for more!

As for fear – well, someone once told me that “fear is life’s greatest motivator.” She was right. You can not let your fears stop you from doing what you love. You obviously love your profession or you wouldn’t be looking for ways to improve yourself. You should not fear your competitors stealing your information. Most of them won’t, and those that do will not have the slightest clue what to do with it. You can’t avoid the competition – you just have to outsmart and outthink them.

Your clients and products need to be informed and you are the only one who can help. If you are, for example, a real estate agent, your clients are likely dying to know the top 5 red flags to watch out for during any home tour. They’ll love you for sharing some incredible tips, and they’ll trust you because you were honest enough to give them information that might stop a sale even though you’re in the business.

People want to deal with those they can identify with. They want to form solid business relationships. Believe it or not, client loyalty does still exist. Sometimes your clients will even be willing to pay a few extra pounds for services if it means they can be secure in the knowledge that they are dealing with someone who knows what he is talking about.

Are you that person? They won’t know if you don’t tell them.

Happy Marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Internet Marketing Consultant - Sales Expert