Good teachers spend time educating their students to be self-sufficient. They make sure students have the information they need to make educated decisions.
Imagine that. All you have to do to be a good teacher is give your customers what they need to make confident choices.
“The most important thing a website owner can do to optimize their website for search engines is to optimize their site for their customers,” Super Savvy Carolyn said about SEO and website success.
Combine this type of customer-focused thinking with a willingness to show your family jewels – the information they need, and you’ve got the formula for customer recognition.
Customer-Focused Thinking + Transparency/Authenticity = Empowering Your Customers
To give your customers what they need to know, start by answering their questions. This means getting all the employees who are involved in any customer relations to write down all the questions they’ve been asked.
Every question is a potential blog post, centered around your customer’s concerns and how best to satisfy their needs. Every blog post is a way to optimize your website for the user experience.
Search engines are trying to deliver the best search experience to users. So when you provide relevant content – by answering their questions – the search engines will be more likely to deliver up your website.
So why don’t more businesses blog?
Three common objections to blogging for your business come up.
1. You’re scared.
Scared to reveal what you know and might be asked to tell. Like pricing. Or reasons not to buy from you. Or who your competitors are.
2. It takes time.
To understand your prospective customer’s questions, you need dialog between teams. You need time to make it happen.
3. It costs – and the returns are slow.
Businesses would rather choose the old route of simply buying an ad rather than taking the plunge and be the teacher. They would rather be a bystander and let the competition be the turtle that wins the race.
Have you experienced these objections? How have you managed to overcome them? We discussed Reason #1 last week, using Marcus Sheridan and his inground fiberglass pools as an example to winning your customer’s trust through honest information.
As Seth Godin said, “If your project or organization depends on knowing things that other people don’t know (but could find out if they wanted to), your days are probably numbered.”
Stay tuned for more Content Marketing 101 and help with Reason #2, and get started blogging for your business.
Thanks to Katlene Niven for her adorable Flickr photo.