Friday, August 22, 2008
Does Your Content Solve Problems?
byFor major purchases, or smaller items that I’ll use for awhile, I always go online to comparison shop. My typical sources include Consumer Reports online, customer reviews, price comparison tools, discussion boards and forums.
Two recent product pursuits left me frustrated. For both items (an odd combination of a replacement sump pump for our home, and a bike trailer for our toddler), I struggled to find credible information. The manufacturer sites had no product selection tips or tools, and online forums weren’t helpful. Product reviews were scattered or nonexistent. In both situations, I ultimately relied on recommendations from friends and family.
Online content continually lets us down. Relevant, easy-to-find content – an article, blog post, even a podcast – might’ve built trust and persuaded me to consider a particular brand or model.
Organizations can appeal to users by solving problems instead of delivering sales messages. David Meerman Scott nicely summarizes the potential:
Instead of creating jargon-filled, hype-based advertising, you can create the kind of online content that your buyers naturally gravitate to—if you take the time to listen to them discuss the problems that you can solve for them. Then you’ll be able to use their words, not your own. You’ll speak in the language of your buyer, not the language of your founder, CEO, product manager, or the PR agency staffer. You’ll help your marketing get real.
Taking it a step further, Chris Brogan recently explained how content marketing could apply to lead generation:
In a traditional approach, you might work very hard on explain just why your product is the best tool for a certain job. But what if, instead, you wrote up some really great suggestions for how one might do that certain job better, with or without your product, and then made a very simple link back to whatever your product offer might be? Which would offer more value to your prospective customer?
Every day, your sales team educates customers and prospects about how your product or service solves problems. Why not take a similar approach online? Even a simple content marketing strategy – a few articles or a how-to series, as Brogan suggests – can attract traffic and build credibility. Even if you sell sump pumps or bike trailers.
